I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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
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 I pray to God he hears you
And 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
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
How to save a life
How to save a life
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
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
How to save a life
How to save a life
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
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 I pray to God he hears you
And 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
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
How to save a life
How to save a life
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
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
How to save a life
How to save a life
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this song is about a father and his son and his son is doing drugs "or break with the ones you've followed" that means that hes followed the drugs addicts and hes gonna break with them if he doesnt change his ways if u read more of the lyrics it will all make sense this song is awesome
thank you so much! i've always been wondering what this song meant and now it makes so much sense! It's such a sad song, though, but i still like it.
No it's not, it's about a young person the singer mentored at a camp of some sort
I think you are right and when you have a closer look at the song, the quotes "grant him one last choice" and "I would have stayed up with you all night had I known how to save a life" make it seem like the dad has been really trying to help his son but feels helpless as he is becoming more addicted .Thank you for making this comment for it gives the song much more meaning.
That is a good thought... at first i thought that it was about a friend trying to talk another friend about no committing suicide. But that is a much better explanation.
that is not what this song is about!!!!!!<br />
the song isent about drugs at all. its about suicide and trying to help people who are thinking about it. the song was writen after isaac had a kid he tutered killed himself. if you look at the lyrics you will see its about two people one person is suicidal and the other is trying to help them.
yh i think i agree with kingkidkong on this one. my first thought when i heard this song was of suicide and the guilt the singer had. unfortuantley the video to go with it doesnt give much away.
Well i think You really shouldn't argue about what this song means, because there is not right or wrong answer. That's the beauty of music, it can mean anything to the listener, It's supposed to relate, not to just one situation, but to a variety of situations. We analyzed this song and video in English today and there were so many plausible answers, each making me think. There is no one answer. It all depends on who you are and what you're going through.
no offense intended but that's just dumb, kineret... the name of the website is "song meanings"... so if nobody is gonna make an attempt at actually finding the meaning of the song, then whats the point?<br /> <br /> anyway this song is about someone committing suicide, the singer feels guilty he was unable to prevent someone from killing themselves. The song is trying to describe what it would take "to save a life" to hopefully help someone else save a life since the narrator here was unable to do so.
I agree with chaplow. the meaning of any song is exactly as the writer intended it, feel free to interpret it how you desire but there is reason behind any song.
Look at it this way though.... There are many different ways to look at one situation. So the writer might mean one thing, but a different person could think it means something entirely different and could help that person with decisions in life. Although, I do believe there is a particular meaning in every song of course, it is also up to the listener.<br />