Dan + Shay have dropped the song they call “the most important release of our career so far.”
“Say So” has a theme of suicide prevention, and as per Variety, it was inspired by the death of the duo’s friend Ben Vaughn, a music industry executive who took his own life in 2025. “As we were talking about Ben, we were just like, ‘Man, I wish we would’ve known. I wish we could have reminded him that there’s always somebody on the other line,'” Dan Smyers tells Variety.
While the duo is best known for their love songs, Shay Mooney tells the outlet, “We felt like with [our forthcoming album] project in particular, we needed to come with this song first. We live in a crazy world right now. Obviously in the first verse it touches on Ben’s story, and it is very heavy, but I think that the rest of this song really offers hope to people.”
Adding that both he and Dan have benefited from therapy, Shay notes, “Talking about these things can oftentimes prevent somebody from getting to that point where they do feel hopeless. It isn’t just for people who are already at their wit’s end.”
In the song, the duo sings, “I’ll be there every time you call/ Pick you up every time you fall/ If you’re going through hell, you’re not alone/ If you need somebody, say so.”
On Instagram, the duo writes, “We are beyond proud of this song and hope it becomes a hit (manifesting), but someday when we look back, we will define its ‘success’ not by the amount of sales + streams, but by the amount of people it helped.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with a mental health challenge or thoughts of suicide – free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call or text the national lifeline at 988.
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