Dan + Shay, ‘Save Me The Trouble’: Story Behind the Song

Dan + Shay are sharing the story behind their new single, “Save Me The Trouble.” The song is the debut track from their forthcoming Bigger Houses album, scheduled to be released on September 15.

“‘Save Me The Trouble’ was the very last song that we wrote for this album,” Dan Smyers tells Audacy. “That’s kind of how it always goes; you turn in the whole album, you think you’re done. All the pressure’s off and you get back in the writing room, when nobody’s looking over your shoulder, expecting anything, and this song poured out of us. The same thing happened with ‘Speechless,’ on our self-titled album.”

Smyers and his duo partner, Shay Mooney,  wrote “Save Me The Trouble” with Ashley Gorley, Jordan Reynolds, Jordan Minton, who had a hand in writing a lot of the songs on Bigger Houses.

“Those guys are all over the rest of this album too,” Smyers reveals. “Great friends of ours. This song was one of those that we had written down in our phone, ‘Save Me The Trouble.’ It’s a phrase that people say in daily conversation all the time. I think we sang that first melody going into that chorus, and I was like, ‘Oh man, this is going to be a big, stunning vocal moment.’

“Shay is the best singer in the world, and when he gets on the mic, it just comes alive,” he adds. “The song is a big vocal showcase. It’s a really fun lyric.”

Dan + Shay recently teased another song on social media, hinting that they were also working on a new tour, one that would definitely include “Save Me The Trouble” on the set list.

“We can’t wait to start playing this one live,” Smyers says. “It’s going to be a big moment with our fans. It’s one of our favorites we’ve ever recorded, honestly. It’s got a lot of fancy, crazy chords in there, and a lot of harmonies. It’s a fun one. We’re really proud of it, and I’m so glad it’s the first single on the album.”

Dan + Shay recently revealed they spent four months not speaking to each other, unsure if they even had a future together as a duo. But now that they are back, and better and stronger than ever, Smyers feels especially grateful that he gets to share his talents with Mooney.

“This song means so much to us,” Smyers says. “We’re so proud of it. Every time I listen to it, I feel so lucky to get to sing with the greatest singer in the entire world … [Shay] sings his butt off on this one. It’s crazy. There’s something special about the arrangement of this song. From the very beginning, it starts with an acoustic guitar, and one vocal. Every single section, it builds a little bit more, a little bit more.”

“Save Me The Trouble” is a good first indication of what fans can expect from Bigger Houses, their first new record since Good Things came out in 2021.

“This is the very first song off of the new project, which I feel like marks a new era,” says Mooney. “It’s a new way of going about our lives and our career, which I’m very excited about. This will always be a very special first thing out in the world.”

Pre-order/pre-save Bigger Houses here. See a track list for the record now, and find all of Dan + Shay’s music and upcoming shows at DanandShay.com.