"Save a Prayer" is the sixth single by Duran Duran, released on 9 August 1982. The song was the third single from the band's second album Rio. It became Duran Duran's biggest hit to date (at the time) in the UK Singles Chart, reaching #2, held out of the top spot by Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger". The track is opened by a somewhat eerie synthesizer riff which plays in the background throughout the song. Cover art for the single features a shadow being.
It was not originally issued as a single in the United States, although the video was very popular on MTV. However, a special USsingle version was released in January 1985 and reached #16 on the Billboard Hot 100.
As well as being a commercial success, the song has received critical acclaim. AllMusic journalist Donald A. Guarisco described the song in a retrospective review, as being "a lilting epic". He wrote: "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."
From the valley of the darkness
The elder say nobody has returned
It's always been a challenge for me
To find adventure to face the fear
I made my mind up to go
I'll give my life just to know
Save a prayer
Save a prayer
Beyond imagination
So many signs just tell me to stop, stop, stop
I feel a certain energy
That leads me to the jungle of the dark
Oh, my visions getting clear
What is behind eternal fears
Save a prayer
Save a prayer
Forgotten land, I'm reaching the end
It's fading to black, save me
I made my own great escape
And if you miss me, it's too late
Save a prayer
Save a prayer
Save a prayer
Save a prayer
Forgotten land, I'm reaching the end
It's fading to black, save me
Save a prayer