Save A Prayer

"Save A Prayer" was a 1982 hit single for Duran Duran. It was their 6th single, and the third from the platinum album Rio. The soft, seductive ballad reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart, being held off the top spot by Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger".

The song was not released as a single in the United States (although the video was very popular on MTV), but a live version released from the Arena reached #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985.

About the song
Donald A. Guarisco at All Music Guide said:

Dance-friendly items like "Rio" and "Hungry Like The Wolf" gave Duran Duran their chart breakthrough in the U.S. but they were also capable of making lush ballads guaranteed to make their fan base swoon. One of the finest, perhaps the finest, was "Save a Prayer," a lilting epic from Rio that has a special place in the heart of every Duran Duran fanatic. The lyrics revolve around a chance meeting between two people that flares into a love affair but ends all too soon: "Some people call it a one night stand/But we can call it paradise/Don't say a prayer for me now/Save it 'til the morning after." The music maintains the stormily romantic quality of the lyric by combining meditative verses with an aching chorus that swells and ebbs in a way that perfectly captures the song's heartbreak. Duran Duran's recording places an emphasis on Nick Rhodes' swirling, minimalist synth lines and Simon LeBon's pained vocals as the rhythm section holds down a steady but subdued beat, with Andy Taylor adding a few searing bursts of electric guitar during the chorus. The result was a stylish mood-piece that became a number two hit in the UK and earned plenty of airplay on MTV with a glossy video that featured the band jet-setting around the atmospheric locale of Sri Lanka.

According to Le Bon, the song's chorus structure is based on Gordon Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind" and the lyrics as being contrary to the then-popular New Romantic movement by being "realistic, and not romantic" and "for seeing things as they really are." He sums up Save A Prayer as "It's definitely a freedom song but like a kinda nobody owns anybody kinda song."

Music video
The video was filmed by director Russell Mulcahy among the jungles, beaches, and temples of Sri Lanka in April, 1982. Scenes were filmed atop the rock fortress of Sigiriya, and among the ruins of a Buddhist temple at Polonnaruwa.

B-sides, bonus tracks and remixes
The UK release of "Save A Prayer" was backed with a remix of "Hold Back the Rain".

Complete list of mixes

 * 1) "Save a Prayer" - 5:34
 * 2) "Save a Prayer [Single Version]" - 5:24
 * 3) "Save a Prayer [Video Version]" - 6:03
 * 4) "Save a Prayer [Australian Promo Edit]" - 4:10
 * 5) "Save a Prayer [Brazilian Edit]" - 4:04
 * 6) "Save a Prayer [US Single version]" - 3:44
 * 7) "Save a Prayer [Special Edited version]" - 3:55
 * 8) "Save a Prayer [Japanese Single version]" - 4:00
 * 9) "Save a Prayer [Thunder in Our Hearts remix]" - 7:17

Covers, samples, & media references
The song has been covered by Tony Hadley, Shut Up & Dance, Eve's Plum, Polyanna, Dune, Oliver Haze, 56K featuring Beejay, and the Push Kings.

In 2007 it has been referenced in the lyrics of the song by Arctic Monkeys, "Teddy Picker" from their album "Favourite Worst Nightmare": "I don't want your prayer, save it for the morning after".

Chart positions
"Save a Prayer" was released in the UK on 9 August, 1982, and peaked at #2 on the UK Singles Chart on 11 September. This version was not released in the United States

Live version
"Save a Prayer (live)" was released as a single from the live album Arena in the United States in February of 1985, backed with the original UK single version of "Save A Prayer". It peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. on 2 February.

The release was accompanied by a new live video, drawn from footage shot in 1984 for the concert film Arena.

7": EMI / EMI 5327 (UK)

 * 1) "Save a Prayer [Single Version]" - 5:25
 * 2) "Hold Back The Rain [7" Remix]" - 3:58

12": EMI / 12 EMI 5327 (UK)

 * 1) "Save a Prayer [Single Version]" - 5:25
 * 2) "Hold Back The Rain [12" Remix]" - 7:05

Other appearances

 * 1984	Arena
 * 1987	The Secret Policeman's Third Ball
 * 1989	Decade: Greatest Hits
 * 1993	"Ordinary World" single
 * 1998	Greatest
 * 1999	Now That's What I Call Music!: 1982
 * 2001	Rio (reissue)
 * 2003	Singles Box Set 1981-1985
 * 2004	Singles Box Set 1986-1995
 * 2005	Live from London

Personnel
Duran Duran are:
 * Simon Le Bon - vocals
 * Nick Rhodes - keyboards
 * John Taylor - bass guitar
 * Roger Taylor - drums
 * Andy Taylor - guitar

Also credited:
 * Colin Thurston - producer and engineer