“Saved By A Stranger (Demo)” by Louis Tomlinson

This is an interesting song in that herein the character Louis Tomlinson portrays implies that at one time in the past, he was depressed to the point of suicide. But then a certain individual ‘talked him down’. This individual convinced Tomlinson that life is worth living. And that would be a “stranger” whom the vocalist is asserting that he was “saved by”.

But what really makes this piece interesting is that throughout, he continually verifies that said individual is in fact a female. No, there’s not any actual romantic lingo to be found here. But in the world of music, it can be taken that the continual usage of female pronouns to refer to this “stranger” does imply that her relationship with the vocalist is something to that effect.

One way to try to make more precise sense out of his piece is by postulating, based on what’s being put forth in the first verse, that the source of Louis’s depression was perhaps being on tour, ‘20,000 miles away from anything that he loved’. This theory is sorta buttressed at the beginning of the second verse, when he makes the statement that “someone else’s fantasy is nothing like reality”. That kinda sounds like something a musician would say once they’re successfully-deep inside the game and realize that everything ain’t gravy. But this lady he’s referring to, being with her made Louis “feel the freedom”. 

So with that type of understanding in mind, it’s up to the listener to imagine exactly what type of relationship they had, one in which they were only apparently together for a short amount of time.

“Saved By A Stranger (Demo)”

This demo was made available on 1 September 2022. It appeared as the B-side to a single Louis Tomlinson put out titled “Bigger Than Me“. 

That song is a part of Tomlinson’s studio album “Faith in the Future”. However, “Saved By a Stranger (Demo)” will not. 

At the time of its issuance, there doesn’t appear to be any other information available on this track besides that.