I will discuss the decay process of large-spin mesons in the context of the gauge-string duality, using generic properties of confining backgrounds and systems with flavour branes. In the string picture, meson decay corresponds to the quantum-mechanical process in which a string rotating on the IR wall. fluctuates, touches a flavour brane and splits into two smaller strings. This process automatically encodes flavour conservation as well as the Zweig rule. I will show that the decay width computed in the string picture is in remarkable agreement with the decay width obtained using the phenomenological Lund model.