“Save The Day” is a song Mariah and Jermaine Dupri began working on in the early 2010s. There were initial plans for it to be a collaborative effort with musicians such as Mary J. Blige, Drake, Taylor Swift or Anthony Hamilton, and have it released as a charity single, donating the funds for human rights issues. The song remained unreleased until August 21, 2020, when it became the lead single from Mariah's The Rarities compilation.
“I started writing this years ago, and the message rings true now more than ever,” Mariah wrote about the song on The Rarities liner notes. “The Fugees' rendition of ‘Killing Me Softly’ with Ms. Lauryn Hill's powerful lead vocals has always been one of my favorite recordings. I really enjoyed merging our voices together on this record.”
Mariah partnered with PushBlack, the non-profit media organization that delivers inspiring Black stories, to honor individuals in the lyric video for the song. The video pays tribute to Breonna Taylor, Congressman John Lewis, trans activist and writer Raquel Willis, Sojourner Truth, Fredrick Douglass, and essential workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, with gorgeous portraits drawn by artist Molly Crabapple.
“Our country is at a critical moment in history, and I felt compelled to do what I could using my platform of music to encourage us all to take action,” Mariah said in a statement. “My hope is that the ‘Save The Day’ video will serve as an inspiring message and spark meaningful dialogue and action across the country, for each of us to do our part to save the day. The lyrics of this song are all about doing your part to make a difference and highlighting the impact that each of us can make. Whether you're an essential worker, a protestor, a student, a young parent making it work, or a first-time voter, we each have a duty to support our communities.”
Directed by Daniel Pearl, the music video kicked off ESPN's coverage of the 2020 US Open Women's Singles Championship. On the video, Mariah performs “Save The Day” while posing in and around a classic blue Cutlass Supreme, just outside the Billie Jean King Tennis Complex, where the event took place. A giant video screen behind her displays clips of Althea Gibson, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams and other greats from the tennis world.
We're all in this together
You're my only hope
And it's too divided
Too deep to understand
But if we don't do it
Tell me who will
Always saying these words
That don't mean too much
I wonder where is the love
It's curious
The fear still holding us down
One day, will we look up?
You got a right to your own opinion
But when it comes to the world we live in
Isn't it time that we start rebuilding
All of the things that have basically crumbled
We all tend to forget that
We all cease to exist if
We all live for ourselves
If nobody bothers to find a solution
If he won't
And she won't
And they won't
Then we won't
We won't ever learn to save the day
If he won't
And she won't
And they won't
Then we won't
We won't ever learn to save the day
We're all in this together
You're my only hope
And it's too divided
Too deep to understand
But if we don't do it
Tell me who will
Always saying these words
That don't mean too much
I wonder where is the love
It's curious
The fear still holding us down
One day, will we look up?
It's up to us!
If he won't
And she won't
And they won't
Then we won't
We won't ever learn to save the day
If he won't
And she won't
And they won't
Then we won't
We won't ever learn to save the day
Written by Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, James “Big Jim” Wright, Charles Fox, Norman Gimbel.
Produced by Mariah Carey. Co-produced by Jermaine Dupri.
