The How to Save a Life lyrics by The Fray tell a tale of someone trying to save a relationship. In the How to Save a Life lyrics, the protagonist of the song is giving advice to a female about what to say to a male in her life.
The How to Save a Life lyrics do not specify the exact nature of this relationship, however. The friend in the song could be just that or a boyfriend or even a father or grandfather as the music video depicts.
Starting off, the How to Save a Life lyrics say how the female should approach the male that she is in conflict with. By the end of the song the How to Save a Life lyrics advise of his two most likely reactions to the confrontation. The lyrics seem to be a bit fatalistic in that this seems like a last ditch effort to save the friendship and the wish to be able to control the outcome if only the subject of the song had a key piece of information on just how to make it happen.
How To Save A Life Lyrics
Step one you say we need to talk
He walks you say sit down it’s just a talk
He smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of window to your right
As he goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
And you begin to wonder why you came
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
Let him know that you know best
Cause after all you do know best
Try to slip past his defense
Without granting innocence
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you’ve told him all along
And pray to God he hears you
And pray to God he hears you
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
As he begins to raise his voice
You lower yours and grant him one last choice
Drive until you lose the road
Or break with the ones you’ve followed
He will do one of two things
He will admit to everything
Or he’ll say he’s just not the same
And you’ll begin to wonder why you came
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
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