Say It

There are four young men from Canada who play in a secular band called "Nickelback". They're experiencing enormous (secular/material) success from their musical talent, and one of their current hits, "Savin' Me", is the focus of today's post.

Of course, I have to give proper credit since I'm getting my information from their website: www.nickelback.com, and from an interview I read on http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/artists/Nickelback/bio.aspx. These sites own their copyrights to the interview and personal information about the band. "Savin' Me" was written by Chad Kroeger. Now on with the post...

In the interview, lead vocalist Chad Kroeger says of their current hit, "'Savin' Me' addresses a man in prison who wants to be saved and a fallen angel who must return to earth to be forgiven for his sins."

When I first heard this song what struck me was that this really represents so much of our young adult and teenage generations today. They're all searching. You can hear it in their music, you can see it in their lives, and if you listen to what they have to say, you know it. The sincerity in Kroeger's voice brings it all together, making this, in my opinion, quite a poignant song. You can watch the video on Nickelback's website; it compliments the song well, making the point that every moment is precious.

Not all artists are as expressive, eloquent, adept, articulate as Chad Kroeger and his band, but I think "Savin' Me" is so accurate in where our young people are today. This song has the potential to go beyond the material success, to eternal, spiritual success. I hope for them it does. I'll give you the words to the song in a moment. First, more from the interview.

"I really like to tell a story that comes off like a movie inside the listener's head," Kroeger says. "And I try to put myself in the scene when I'm writing it. That makes it easier for me to look around and see what I can sing about. Otherwise you don't get any details and it doesn't play out very well."

"I really want to make music for the right reasons," Kroeger says. "The most important reason is to make music because you love it. And I think that's why we spend so much time on it. On this record, we didn't want to overlook any small detail." Throughout the creation of All the Right Reasons, the band tweaked verses, changed choruses and altered arrangements until the songs passed the band's own litmus test- no song was deemed "done" until it made the hair on the back of their necks stand up. "We're perfectionists," he says. "If you finish a song and it's not stuck in your head, then how will it stick in someone else's head when they've only heard it once or twice?"

Savin' Me
by Chad Kroeger

Prison gates won't open up for me
On these hands and knees I'm crawlin'
Oh, I reach for you
Well I'm terrified of these four walls
These iron bars can't hold my soul in
All I need is you
Come please I'm callin'
And oh I scream for you
Hurry I'm fallin'

Show me what it's like
To be the last one standing
And teach me wrong from right
And I'll show you what I can be
Say it for me
Say it to me
And I'll leave this life behind me
Say it if it's worth saving me

Heaven's gates won't open up for me
With these broken wings I'm fallin'
And all I see is you
These city walls ain't got no love for me
I'm on the ledge of the eighteenth story
And oh I scream for you
Come please I'm callin'
And all I need from you
Hurry I'm fallin'

Show me what it's like
To be the last one standing
And teach me wrong from right
And I'll show you what I can be
Say it for me
Say it to me
And I'll leave this life behind me
Say it if it's worth saving me
Hurry I'm fallin'

And all I need is you
Come please I'm callin'
And oh I scream for you
Hurry I'm fallin'

Show me what it's like
To be the last one standing
And teach me wrong from right
And I'll show you what I can be
Say it for me
Say it to me
And I'll leave this life behind me
Say it if it's worth saving me

Hurry I'm fallin'
Say it for me
Say it to me
And I'll leave this life behind me
Say it if it's worth saving me

(C) Chad Kroeger, Nickelback


"Savin' Me" applies to the Christian evangelical message as well. Ask yourself this: For the people you meet who have not accepted God's offer of eternal life, their soul is still searching with the same sincerity heard in Chad Kroeger's voice, and it's pleading to you:

"Say it if it's worth savin' me."