Song Analysis #1 "How to Save a Life" - The Fray

            The Fray formed in 2002 by Isaac Slade and Joseph King. They are an American rock band originating from Colorado. The Fray’s debut album, How to Save a Life, has been certified two times Multi-Platinum in the United States. The title track off the album is currently tied for the seventh longest charting single on Billboard’s Hot 100 and is one of the band’s most popular songs on the radio. Isaac Slade, the lead singer, has been quoted saying that “How to Save a Life” was written about a teenage boy he met at a camp for troubled teens. Many attempts were made by the boy’s parents and friends to help him, but their efforts seemed to be ineffective; nothing seemed to be getting through to the boy. Regardless of the actual meaning of the song, the songwriters, Isaac Slade and Joseph King, wrote the song ambiguously. This has allowed many listeners to make their own interpretations of the song and relate to it in their own way. In the song “How to Save a Life”, Isaac Slade and Joseph King use point of view and ambiguity to create a vague storyline, open to many interpretations, which speaks about general conflict between two individuals.

            Slade and King’s usage of the third person subjective point of view sets the framework of an ambiguous storyline. This storyline includes two nameless people in some state of conflict. Slade says, “Step one, you say, ‘We need to talk’/ He walks, you say, ‘Sit down, it's just a talk’”. He tells the story of these two people as is if he completely removed from the situation. There is a conflict between these two characters that Slade purposely neglects to mention so as to present a situation that is relatable to almost any person. Slade switches his point of view to the first person narrative, for the chorus alone, and says, “Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend”. Without getting too personal, Slade connects the conflict to his life, which allows the listener to do the same. The points of view allow the listener to hear a story of general conflict and then relate it to their own experiences.

The use of ambiguity in “How to Save a Life” further clouds the literal meaning of the song. The specific details of the conflict are never mentioned. Slade states that the two characters seem to be figuratively going in different directions: “As he goes left and you stay right”. His statement and its ambiguity allows the listener to develop their own interpretation. In two instances Slade presents efforts taken by one character to help the other. First, he says, “Drive until you lose the road / Or break with the ones you've followed”. Second, he says, “Lay down a list of what is wrong / The things you've told him all along / And pray to God he hears you”. In each of these statements, Slade tells how one character is making attempts at helping the other. However, in these attempts, there is little detail described. The lack of detail contributes to the ambiguous conflict existing in the song. The most significant line that proves the ambiguity is stated towards the end of the song. Slade says, “He will admit to everything”. The line is simple and vague. It leaves the listener with questions: Who is he? What does he need to admit to? What is everything? Any person could relate this line directly to their life in some way. Its simplicity allows one to do this. The ambiguity used in the song leads to multiple variations in meaning that one can relate to in their own way.

Slade and King’s usage of both point of view and ambiguity about a conflict between two individuals directs the listener to a multitude of interpretations. The main point of view (third person subjective) provides a vague plot and the secondary point of view (first person narrative) allows the listener to then make their own interpretations based off of Slade’s connections. The vast amount of ambiguity further provides the vague storyline that almost any person is able to relate to in some way. The simplicity of the lyrics provided by Slade and King are expertly written in such a way to be relatable to every listener in an infinite number of ways.