Meaning of "How to save a life"

by alwaysanole

This is my take:

"step one, you say 'we need to talk'he walks, you say 'sit down, it's just a talk'
He feels the first thing he needs to do to help his friend is to tell him "we need to talk". And reassure him that everything is going to be ok because after all "it's just a talk"
"he smiles politely back at you
you stare politely right on through
some sort of window to your right
as he goes left and you stay right
between the lines of fear and blame
you begin to wonder why you came"
The friend the storyteller is confronting seems to know what the talk is about so he tries to stay calm by "smiling politely"
But the storyteller cant bare to look his friend in the eye so he "stares right on through the window" The window could symbolize literally a window the storyteller is looking at to avoid eye contact with his friend because he is "fearful" of what his friend will think of what he has to say (and fearful for his friends life), especially if his friend is not willing to take the "blame" for his actions. And if his friend wont listen to him it's all just a waste of time and he'll "wonder why he came".
Referring back to the window, he could also be speaking figuratively, thinking of this as his window of oppurtunity to help his friend.

"where did i go wrong?i lost a friend somewhere along in the bitternessand i would have stayed up with you all nighthad i known how to save a life"He's asking himself "where did I go wrong"? How come I couldn’t reach my friend? And possibly feeling guilty for the "bitterness" he feels toward his friend because his friend hasn’t changed his ways (possibly that bitterness pushed his friend away, making him even harder to reach)And the next part could mean two different things. The more symbolic: "staying up all night" would mean spending a lot of time trying to "save a life" "had he known how" by being there for his friend if he only knew how to help him straighten out his life. Or "staying up all night" could literally mean staying up all night while his friend was going through withdraw from the drugs he was taking and "had he know how to save a life" would then mean if he knew staying up all night with him to help him through his withdraw was what he needed to save his life, he would have done that.

(Sorry if none of that made sense, it made more sense in my head)
"let him know that you know best'
cause after all, you do know best”
He wants his friend to know that he knows what is best for him hence "let him know that you know best".“try to slip passed his defensewithout granting innocence”
He also wants to " try to slip passed his defense" meaning he wants to be gentle enough to were his friend will let down his guard and listen to him but he doesnt want to "grant innocence" meaning not letting his friend believe that his actions weren’t wrong.
So basically find a balance between sensitivity and sternness when he is confronting his friend.“lay down a list of what is wrongthings you told him all along”Once he has accomplished that he wants to "lay down a list of what is wrong, things he told him all along" In other words, once his friend is listening he's going to try to tell him all the things that he has done wrong, like he's attempted to in the passed.“pray to god he hears youand pray to god he hears you"The storyteller then realizes all you can do after that is "pray to god he hears you""as he begins to raise his voiceyou lower yours and grant him one last choice"
His friend get angry because of the things he is telling him, but he stays calm and lays it on the line."drive until you lose the roador break with the ones you've followed" He tells his friend that he can drive himself to his end or choose a better path to follow.
"he will do one of two thing
she will admit to everything
or he'll say he's just not the same"
His friend will either admit to his wrong doing or he’ll just say he’s not the same person that he used to be and that he can’t change who he currently is.
“and you'll begin to wonder why you came”
And obviously if his friend chooses not to change
“you’ll begin to wonder why you came” because it was a unsuccessful attempt to help his friend.

That's just my take.