Savin' Me
Encyclopedia
"Savin' Me" is a rock
song written by Canadian
band Nickelback
. It was released as the third major single
from their fifth album All the Right Reasons
(2005). The song has reached number two on the Canadian Singles Chart
and number nineteen on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
chart. It is one of the band's few videos in which they are not shown performing. It was featured in the closing credits to the film The Condemned
as well as in the commercials for the third season of Battlestar Galactica
.
EU CD single (April 27, 2006)
bus, and pulls him back just in the nick of time, and then walks away. The young man starts staring at other people as the song begins.
Eventually, the viewer sees that the young man sees timer
s with glowing numbers counting down above the heads of everyone around him; except himself. To everyone else he appears to be crazy. He is baffled by the timers until he sees an elderly woman being brought out on a stretcher: when the timer above her head reaches zero, she dies. Shortly afterwards he sees a young woman sitting down and peeling an orange. She has numbers above her head and in front of her pregnant stomach. He also sees that he cannot see the timer above his own head. He soon spots a business woman about to enter her car, and sees her timer rapidly dwindles much faster than it should, dropping from the millions to the single digits in a matter of seconds. He pulls her out of the way just before her car is crushed by a falling statue in a crate (which, in an example of foreshadowing
, can be seen in midair about halfway through the video (timestamp 2:00.01). The young man, talking on a cell phone. then walks away with his own reappearing glowing numbers overhead, just as the man who had saved him did, leaving the businesswoman astonished as she now sees the timers over everyone else's heads.
The band is in an apartment; Chad Kroeger
and Ryan Peake are singing on camera, but no instruments are played; the other band members are seen simply staring at the camera, or into space.
has not specifically addressed this uncertainty.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
song written by Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
band Nickelback
Nickelback
Nickelback is a Canadian rock band from Hanna, Alberta. Since 1995 the band has included guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist and back-up vocalist Ryan Peake and bassist Mike Kroeger.. The band's current drummer and percussionist is Daniel Adair who has been with the band since 2005....
. It was released as the third major single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from their fifth album All the Right Reasons
All the Right Reasons
All the Right Reasons is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band Nickelback, released on October 4, 2005. It is the band's first album with former 3 Doors Down drummer Daniel Adair, who replaced Ryan Vikedal in January 2005...
(2005). The song has reached number two on the Canadian Singles Chart
Canadian Singles Chart
The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....
and number nineteen on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart. It is one of the band's few videos in which they are not shown performing. It was featured in the closing credits to the film The Condemned
The Condemned
The Condemned is a 2007 action film, co-written and directed by Scott Wiper, and starring "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Vinnie Jones, Robert Mammone, Madeleine West and Rick Hoffman....
as well as in the commercials for the third season of Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson...
.
Track listings and formats
UK 3-track single (June 13, 2006)- "Saving Me" [pop mix] – 3:39
- "Animals" [live] – 3:52
- "Follow You Home" [live] – 7:08
EU CD single (April 27, 2006)
- "Saving Me" [pop mix] – 3:39
- "Animals" [live] – 3:52
- "Follow You Home" [live] – 7:08
- "Saving Me" [Video] – 4:49
Music video
The music video opens with a man in a trenchcoat wandering near a street corner. He then sees a young man talking on a cell phone about to get hit by a New Jersey TransitNew Jersey Transit
The New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...
bus, and pulls him back just in the nick of time, and then walks away. The young man starts staring at other people as the song begins.
Eventually, the viewer sees that the young man sees timer
Timer
A timer is a specialized type of clock. A timer can be used to control the sequence of an event or process. Whereas a stopwatch counts upwards from zero for measuring elapsed time, a timer counts down from a specified time interval, like an hourglass.Timers can be mechanical, electromechanical,...
s with glowing numbers counting down above the heads of everyone around him; except himself. To everyone else he appears to be crazy. He is baffled by the timers until he sees an elderly woman being brought out on a stretcher: when the timer above her head reaches zero, she dies. Shortly afterwards he sees a young woman sitting down and peeling an orange. She has numbers above her head and in front of her pregnant stomach. He also sees that he cannot see the timer above his own head. He soon spots a business woman about to enter her car, and sees her timer rapidly dwindles much faster than it should, dropping from the millions to the single digits in a matter of seconds. He pulls her out of the way just before her car is crushed by a falling statue in a crate (which, in an example of foreshadowing
Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing or adumbrating is a literary device in which an author indistinctly suggests certain plot developments that might come later in the story.-Repetitive designation and Chekhov's gun:...
, can be seen in midair about halfway through the video (timestamp 2:00.01). The young man, talking on a cell phone. then walks away with his own reappearing glowing numbers overhead, just as the man who had saved him did, leaving the businesswoman astonished as she now sees the timers over everyone else's heads.
The band is in an apartment; Chad Kroeger
Chad Kroeger
Chad Robert Kroeger is aCanadian songwriter, singer, and guitarist best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Canadian rock band Nickelback...
and Ryan Peake are singing on camera, but no instruments are played; the other band members are seen simply staring at the camera, or into space.
Uncertain lyrical meaning
There has been a lot of discussion and debate into who exactly the song is "calling out for". Some believe for it to be a lover of the protagonist, while some believe it to have religious meaning, with themes of forgiveness and redemption, with lyrics such as "Heaven's gates won't open up for me" and "teach me wrong from right". So far NickelbackNickelback
Nickelback is a Canadian rock band from Hanna, Alberta. Since 1995 the band has included guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist and back-up vocalist Ryan Peake and bassist Mike Kroeger.. The band's current drummer and percussionist is Daniel Adair who has been with the band since 2005....
has not specifically addressed this uncertainty.
Release history
| Country | Release Date | Version |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Original | |
| United Kingdom | ||
| Re-Release |
Charts
| Chart (2006/08) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 18 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 43 |
| Canadian Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
2 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
25 |
| German Singles Chart | 72 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
47 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 9 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 82 |
| Slovak Airplay Chart | 25 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
77 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
19 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States... |
29 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks Adult Top 40 is a variation on the United States Billboard charts... |
2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 11 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks | 29 |
| U.S. Billboard Pop 100 Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009... |
14 |