This song is a love letter to the city of San Francisco, where Train formed. In the song, lead singer Pat Monahan leaves the Bay Area and goes on a road trip that leaves him unsatisfied in Seattle (that would be a really bad movie title). With a newfound appreciation for his home city, he returns to San Francisco, where he feels saved.
"Save Me, San Francisco" is the title track from Train's fifth, their first release in nearly four years. "It's kind of like we're re-introducing the band to everybody," lead guitarist Jimmy Stafford told Billboard. "We just wanted to get back to our roots on this record. We wanted to do things a little more stripped-down like our first album and get back to the whole San Francisco vibe." The strategy worked: Train landed a huge hit with the album's first single, "Hey Soul Sister," and got right back on track.
Pat Monahan wrote this song with the S*A*M* and Sluggo team of David Katz and Sam Hollander, which also produced the track. Katz and Hollander had mostly worked in the pop-punk realm with acts like Metro Station and We The Kings, but they had no trouble getting on board with Train. "There are just certain cats you collaborate with who have such a specific lyrical brilliance, and Pat's one of those guys," Hollander told Songfacts. "I love the way he plays with phrases."
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