"Over My Head (Cable Car)" (originally performed simply as "Cable Car") is a song by American rock band the Fray. It was released in October 2005 as the lead single from their debut album How to Save a Life and from the soundtrack to the science fiction action film Stealth (2005). It hit the top 10 on the BillboardHot 100 chart. The single helped propel their album from the Top Heatseekers chart to the top 20 of The Billboard 200 chart. The CD single was backed with "Heaven Forbid" and a live version of "Hundred". In the United Kingdom, "Over My Head (Cable Car)" was released as the second single from the album, following "How to Save a Life".
The song was ranked No. 43 on Billboard's Best Adult Pop Songs of the Decade list[4] and No. 100 on Billboard's Top 100 Digital Tracks of the Decade list.[5]
After comparisons were drawn between "Over My Head (Cable Car)" and the Chainsmokers' "Closer", Isaac Slade and guitarist Joe King of the Fray were credited as co-writers of "Closer" on September 2, 2016.[6]
Song meaning
The song "Over My Head" was written about lead singer and pianist Isaac Slade's relationship with his brother, Caleb, nicknamed "Cable Car". He wrote the song because he and his brother were allegedly not speaking and were at odds with each other:
"It is about a fight I got in with my brother, Caleb. After he graduated high school, we drifted apart and really hadn't spoken in a long time. One day we both realized that we needed to fight it out. We'd been friends for 20 years. That's a long time when you're only 23 years old. We fought it out, and he's one of my best friends today."[7][8][9]
The song was originally recorded as a demo in 2004. This demo version was picked up by Denver radio station KTCL, and became one of the station's most played songs of 2005. And gained an even bigger boost after it was used in the 2005 film Stealth, and appeared on the film’s official soundtrack by their label Epic.[10] There is also another slightly different version of the song which is 4:10 in length.
The song became a top 40 hit on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in late 2005. It lasted three weeks on the chart and peaked at position No. 37.[13] The single gained airplay nationally, entering the Billboard Hot 100 chart on the issue marked February 25, 2006. 14 weeks later it reached its peak position at No. 8 on the Hot 100 chart.[14] On the BillboardAdult Top 40 chart, the single reached the No. 2 position.[15] The single also saw airplay on some Christian radio stations and spent several weeks on the R&R Christian charts, where it peaked at No. 27.
Internationally, the song was a Top 25 hit in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. In the beginning of 2007, the song became popular in the Netherlands.
Music video
Micah Slade in the music video
The music video was directed by Elliott Lester and was filmed on July 24, 2005, at East High School and at Fox Theatre in Denver and Boulder, respective. The video shows the members of the band as children, who attract the attention of other children by playing various instruments. Micah Slade, the youngest brother of Isaac Slade, assumes the role of Isaac as a child in the music video. While the video was not granted much airplay on MTV, it peaked at No. 2 in the VH1 Top 20 Countdown. It was ranked number 8 on VH1's "Top 40 Videos of 2006."[16]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
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