How to Save a Life

Isaac Slade wrote "How to Save a Life" after a weekend spent mentoring a troubled teenager. The Fray's lead singer had been invited to a retreat run by Shelterwood, a group home in Denver that took in teens whose parents could no longer manage them. He was paired with a 17-year-old musician who had drug problems and was cutting himself, and Slade later said that no one could write a manual on how to save him. The song became an account of all the people who tried to reach the boy and failed, his friends and family having told him to quit his behavior or face being cut off, when what he needed was support.

The verses describe an adult confronting a troubled teen, while the chorus laments that the singer himself could not save a friend because he did not know how. The band opened the song to interpretation, creating a website where fans could submit their own music videos for it. Slade received many emails in response, including one from the family of a boy who died in a car accident, and the song had been the last one he downloaded. His friends played it at the funeral and some had "Save a life" tattooed on their arms.

Released in March 2006 as the second single from the album of the same name, the song peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent 58 consecutive weeks on that chart. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 2007, losing to "Dani California" by Red Hot Chili Peppers.