"How to Save a Life" is an alternative rock song by Colorado-based rock band The Fray. It is the title track from their debut album. It was the follow-up single to the top 10 hit "Over My Head (Cable Car)" and peaked in the top 3 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. The song has sold over 1,000,000 downloads, and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. It is the band's highest-charting song to date, topping the Adult Top 40 chart for 15 consecutive weeks and topping the Canadian Airplay Chart.
According to lead singer and songwriter Isaac Slade, the song was composed and influenced by his experience while working as a mentor at a camp for troubled teens: "One of the kids I was paired up with was a musician. Here I was, a protected suburbanite, and he was just 17 and had all these problems. And no one could write a manual on how to save him."
Slade claims that the song is about all of the people that tried to reach out to the boy but were unsuccessful. As Slade says in an interview, his friends and family approached him by saying, "Quit [the problem behavior] or I won't talk to you again," but all he needed was some support.
The verses of the song describe an attempt by an adult to confront a troubled teen. In the chorus, the singer laments that he himself was unable to save a friend because he did not know how