#synthvjun

How to Save a Life SynthV cover Feat Hxvoc

This my cover of How to save a Life by the Frey. Honestly this song is one of those songs that at least for a millennial was defining a generation. This song was literally everywhere. For me it was to the point for the longest time I was honestly sick of the song. That doesn’t mean it was bad or i didn’t like it, just over saturated. However recently it came up when I was looking for inspiration songs for something else I was writing. I really found from both characters and my own life experience now that I am older that I connected better with the song. That’s really where the crux of this cover comes from--I changed a few things to match the interpretation in my head. 

The biggest and most notable would be the pronoun change. The original was narrator talking to someone with he/him pronouns. For me I found myself finding this song relevant to conversations I’ve had with people of varying genders. So for me in my mind I wanted the song to reflect everyone I have and could have a talk like this with--because if I am honest with myself, I may end up having to have a talk like this with someone else in my life. C’est la vie, Anyhow the next change is came from a transposition because of my dyslexia. That change being in the chorus from “I would have stayed up with you all night…” to “Would I have stayed up with you all night?” By the time I realized the change in the lyrics I had already the first rough mix done. 

Thankfully with Synth V it’s really easy to process lyric changes. As long as the file names are the same you can delete the old file and replace it with the new renders and not have to do a single change in your DAW, but I digress. I listened to the track several times with the altered lyrics and then again to the original. I ended up leaving the majority of the choruses with the accidental mixup. I found that it really leaned into the theme of regret I felt when listening to the song. The two phrase have such a similar meaning yet so different when looked at any closer than a glance. I felt going with the more questioning “Would I have stayed up with you all night?” felt almost painful with self doubt. 

 Then in the final Chorus I go with the more resolute “I would have stayed up with you all night.” on the first repetition before moving to the final repetition where I picked/Changed the lyric to “I should have stayed up with you all night”. This change for me at least was what really cemented that feeling of loss and regret that I felt listening and playing the song. With the way I both view the song and how I interpret it this change feels like it just makes it that much more melodramatic in a way that connects with me. All in all that’s one of the things I love most about music, covers, arrangements, variations on a theme, etc… It’s one of those things you can add or take away meaning, to give something a new life or a a new perspective.

 It’s part of why I hate the whole excessive copyright law suits where they are trying to say a specific chord progression or series of descending or ascending notes is an “original” progression or melody. When in reality it’s not. Anyhow before I go on a rant again I just wanted to again say thank you for listening to my cover. I hope you liked it.