Lyrics

Step   , you say, "We   to talk."
He   , you say, "Sit down. It's just a   ."
He   politely back at you
You stare politely right on  
Some sort of   to your right
As he   left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and  
You begin to   why you came

Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the  
And I would have   up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

Let him know that you know  
'Cause after all you do   best
Try to slip   his defense
Without   innocence
Lay   a list of what is wrong
The things you've told him all  
Pray to God, he   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   his voice
You   yours and grant him one last choice
Drive until you lose the  
Or   with the ones you've followed
He will do one of two  
He will   to everything
Or he'll say he's just not the  
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
Legend

Meaning

Isaac Slade, the lead singer of The Fray, was inspired to write this song while he worked as a mentor for a crack addicted teen in a camp.

I think it's about a person who tried to help his/her friend but failed to do so and now he feels guilty about it.
But since the song refers to "a friend", then I'm just going to interpret it as a conversation between two friends.

Vocabulary

slip past

To sneak or move past someone or something unnoticed
It is impossible to slip past the armed guards and metal detectors
Do you think lean slip past the doorway without being seen?

Lay down

establish: law, rules, etc.
those directives lay down a list of minimum information on the project or on activity
The Commission does not wish to lay down an exhaustive list of assessment criteria

all along

the whole time
She knew about the surprise party all along
She had believed her lies all along

Had I known

Inversion means putting the verb before the subject. It is a literary technique in which the normal order of words is reversed, generally for emphasis or special effect.
Hardly had I begun to speak when I was interrupted.
No sooner had I arrived than they all started to argue.