How to Save a Life is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band The Fray. Released on September 13, 2005 through Epic Records, the record charted in the top 15 on the Billboard 200 and was a top ten hit in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the UK. The first two singles from the album, "Over My Head (Cable Car)" and "How to Save a Life" helped the album become a commercial success and brought the band mainstream popularity.
The Fray's official music video for 'How To Save a Life'. As featured on The Collection. I lost a friend Somewhere along in the bitterness And I would have stayed up with you all night Had I known how to save a life.
About How to Save a Life. The second single, and title track from The Fray’s debut album. This song is about lead singer Isaac Slade’s experience at a shelter for troubled teens. Is "How to Save a Life" about drugs? The lyrics came from an experience singer Isaac Slade had with a teenager who was struggling with crack addiction, while working as a mentor on a camp for troubled youths. In an interview with USA Today, Slade explains
How To Save A Life" as written by and Joseph King Isaac Slade. Step one, you say we need to talk He walks, you say sit down, it's just a talk He smiles politely back at you You stare politely right on through Some sort of window to your right As he goes left, and you stay right Between the lines of fear and blame You begin to wonder why you came. Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend Somewhere along in the bitterness And I would have stayed up with you all night Had I known how to save a life
What they don't have is much originality. All the songs on their debut, How to Save a Life, sound almost exactly alike and also exactly like you would expect - sincere, melodic, authentic, and bereft of anything surprising or exciting. This doesn't make for the kind of record that people will want to listen to over and over again but for modern rock, it isn't half-bad. The Fray try hard and they never really do anything offensive. A couple of songs, like "Over My Head (Cable Car)" and "Dead Wrong," might even sound good in the background of a WB teen drama.
How To Save A Life (CD, Album, Promo).
