An environmental protest song, "Save the World" was Harrison's first composition to directly address topical issues such as the nuclear arms race, rainforest and wildlife devastation, and the ecologically irresponsible practices of corporate concerns.

[13][20] In the description of Harrison biographer Alan Clayson, the style is "quasi-reggae",[21] while author Ian Inglis refers to it being sung on the official recording "in a deceptively sweet voice to a march tempo".

Aside from Harrison, who played guitars and self-produced the sessions,[5][23] the musicians on the track were Neil Larsen and Gary Brooker (both on keyboards), Willie Weeks (bass), Jim Keltner (drums), Ray Cooper (percussion) and Tom Scott (horns).

[32] The album was a relative commercial success,[24][37] an outcome that was due largely to a public outpouring of grief in reaction to the murder of Harrison's former bandmate John Lennon in December 1980.

"[44] In another unfavourable review,[45][46] Harry Thomas of Rolling Stone opined that "Social commentary and ironic wit clearly remain outside the scope of Harrison's very real talents" and wrote of "Save the World": "Veering uncertainly between whimsy and dour warnings, the song ultimately fails either to galvanize or amuse.

[48] NME critic Bob Woffinden welcomed "Save the World" as an example of how the album's subject matter ranged beyond the "humdrum", and he found it "only characteristic of [Harrison] to embrace more universal themes".

[49] Record Mirror's Mike Nicholls described the lyrics as "conscience delegating" and wondered whether, given Harrison's warning of the devastation of rainforests through the demand for paper towels, the message was "Boycott bog rolls".

[55][56][nb 4] The inclusion of "Save the World" on Greenpeace marked a rare new musical release for Harrison between 1983 and 1986,[58][59] when he was otherwise engaged in film production with the continued success of HandMade.

[60][61][62] Over the same period, however, he became increasingly involved in environmental matters; these activities included attending an anti-nuclear demonstration in London's Trafalgar Square,[63] voicing support for the British Green Party, and inspiring a successful campaign to stop the John Lewis Partnership from demolishing Henley's Regal Cinema and building a supermarket complex.

[67] Produced by Ian Weiner, the clip for "Save the World" consisted of scenes of Rainbow Warrior and Greenpeace personnel at work on their international activist campaigns.

[71][72] As a songwriter, he revisited the themes of "Save the World" in "Cockamamie Business", a new song issued on Best of Dark Horse,[73][74] and in the title track to his final studio album, the posthumously released Brainwashed.

[75][nb 5] In the 1990s, Harrison's elder sister, Louise, used "Save the World" as the soundtrack for a series of public service radio segments she produced, titled Good Earthkeeping Tips, which offered information on environmental issues.

[81] Writing for Uncut in March 2017, Neil Spencer highlighted "Save the World" as one of the "[unexpected] delights" among Harrison's 1980s releases, and said that while it was dismissed as "soft protest" originally, the song is "beautifully played and never more relevant than today".

[82] Among Harrison and Beatles biographers, Chip Madinger and Mark Easter describe "Save the World" as "a wholly unappealing track" on which the "heavyhandedness" of the lyrics is completely at odds with the musical mood.

[32] Ian Inglis echoes this view, deeming the lyrics "trite to the point of being risible" and the combination of an unfocused narrative and the overuse of sound effects to be as unsuccessful as the Beatles' work during the Magical Mystery Tour era.

"[24] Alan Clayson views Harrison's conservationist sentiments as "laudable" and considers the track to be a protest song in the mould of Barry McGuire's 1965 hit "Eve of Destruction", yet he also identifies the lack of subtlety as betraying "the impartiality of one long and, perhaps, guiltily isolated from the everyday".