Save a Prayer

"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."