Michelle Vonguyen

How to Save A Life - The Fray

Trying to save people's lives is the goal of all physicians which showed in Grey’s Anatomy
Show. With the music background of the song, “How to Save a Life,” the importance of saving
people’s lives was emphasized very powerfully and emotionally. No one can stop the tears
when listening to this song “How to Save a Life.” Our emotions can be intense as the lyrics with
the unanswered question, “Where did I go wrong?” keep repeating throughout the song. And
yet, despite you trying very hard to help your friend, “Somewhere along in the bitterness/ And I
would have stayed up with you all night,” you still couldn’t save his life. The pain of being
unable to save a friend’s life is illustrated in “How to Live a Life” so real and influential.

You may feel guilty and responsible for your friends about what happened to them because
you don’t know how to save them. This song emphasizes the guilt that someone is unable to
save a friend’s life. You try to help your friend but you feel hopeless because he doesn’t let you,
“Between the lines of fear blame”, /You begin to wonder why you came”. You keep blaming
yourself about losing your friend. The lyrics express the pain that showed unanswered
questions, “Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend”. You try to help your friend, but your friend
doesn’t listen to you, “We need to talk/ He walks, you say sit down, it’s just a talk”. As a
consequence, you feel guilty because you watch a friend destroy himself and can’t stop what
happened.

Accordingly, your love and understanding will help your friends get through their difficult
times. The song expresses someone’s love and cares for friends, “And I would have stay up with
you all night” keep repeating throughout the song which shows your willingness to sacrifice
anything to help a friend. You should let your friends know your concern and support so they
can feel comfortable to open up and communicate with you,” He will do one of two things/ He
will admit to everything”. By showing your love and feeling loved, you can help your friend get
away from their problems, “Lethim know that you know best/ Cause after all, you do know
best”. In the end, your love and understanding can help your friends listen to you and tell you
what they’re going through.

Especially, it’s very important that you are aware of your friend’s problems and offer your
support. You are unaware of the fact your friend’s going to die. The victims can be your friends,
your family, or anyone you know. Some of them feel ashamed about their problems and they
believe that they are able to overcome their problems by themselves. Also, many people
struggle deeply with their problems which they try to get out but they don’t know how. We
need to show more sympathy for friends and give them our support. It’s important that we can
guide them toward the right help and treatment, “Somewhere along in the bitterness/ And I
would have stayed up with you all night/ Had I known how to save a life”. We can learn how to
offer support and how to help your friends get the treatments they need to cope with their
problems. “Let him know that you know best, Cause after all, you do know best/ Try to slip past
his defense/ Without granting innocence/ Lay downa list of what is wrong/ The things you've
told him all along.” As a result, it’s not too late if you are aware of what they’re going through
and offer the support and treatment they need.

As shown above, this song has been used in the medical drama “Grey Anatomy” and it
became a top ten hit in the United States. The context and lyrics are so touching and
meaningful because it came from the real experience of the band’s lead singer, Isaac Slade. It’s
all about drugs, suicide, and relationships. He successfully captures the feeling and suffering of
what friends are going through. In order to know what he struggled, you should listen to this
music video, “How To Save a Life”!