How to Save a Life: A Jacob/Bella Fanmix [EP] (My first fanmix)

[sherrilina]

So I posted this already on the relevant communities, but I haven't posted it here yet--so here goes.  This was the first fanmix that I completed, though the J/C one is the first one I ever started (I'll shortly post that after this, since it's too much two put two mixes in one post).  Comments are love! :)  And please excuse my lack of fanart skillz, it's er, the thought that counts, no? :p

Medium: Books/Films
Fandom: Twilight
Subject: Jacob/Bella
Title: “How To Save a Life [EP]”
Warnings: Spoilers for Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse only! (No Breaking Dawn!)
Notes: This fan mix centers on the ways in which Jacob helps try to save Bella’s life, especially in “New Moon,” though with a little “Eclipse” as well.

Preview:

Here are the lyrics from each song that most remind me of J/B (and the ways in which Jacob saves Bella’s life), and why. Most of these songs relate more to New Moon, and the way in which Jacob saves Bella’s life in that book by bringing her out of her zombie-like state and acting as a protective, comforting safe harbor for her—to the extent that she even admits to Edward later that if not for Jacob she wasn’t sure what there would have been left for Edward to return to. In the last song, however, the theme of “How to Save a Life” relates to more to Eclipse than NM; it relates Jacob’s desperate attempt to save Bella’s human life throughout that novel by trying to convince her to “choose life” over vampirism. It happened to work out that the six songs are divided evenly between Jacob and Bella, and that the three songs sung by males are for the most part from Jacob’s POV, while the three songs sung by females are from Bella’s perspective. Enjoy!

1. “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence

How can you see into my eyes like open doors?
Leading you down into my core
Where I’ve become so numb

Without a soul
My spirit's sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find it there and lead it back home
(refrain)
Wake me up inside
Wake me up inside
Call my name and save me from the dark
Bid my blood to run
Before I come undone
Save me from the nothing I’ve become

Now that I know what I’m without
You cant just leave me
Breathe into me and make me real
Bring me
To life

Frozen inside without your touch
Without your love, darling
Only you are the life among the dead….

I’ve been sleeping a thousand years it seems
Got to open my eyes to everything

I think this is just the kind of angsty song that Bella would sing to Jacob during New Moon as she desperately sought his help in surviving Edward’s departure and returning to life rather than acting like a numb zombie. 

2. “Fix You” by Coldplay

When you try your best, but
you don't succeed
When you get what you want,
but not what you need
When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse
When the tears come
streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone, but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?
 

(refrain)
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

High up above or down below
When you’re too in love to let it go
But if you never try, you'll never know
Just what you're worth…..

 This song shows Jacob’s feelings during New Moon, as he sees Bella’s suffering after Edward leaves (which is outlined well in the first stanza) and tries to “fix” her, or make her well and happy again, acting as a “light” to “guide [her] home.”  This is an especially apt description/metaphor in the song since Jacob is by Bella’s own admission her “personal sun.”

3. “She Will Be Loved” by Maroon 5

Beauty queen of only eighteen
She had some trouble with herself
He was always there to help her
She always belonged to someone else

I drove for miles and miles
And wound up at your door
I've had you so many times but somehow
I want more

(refrain)
I don't mind spending everyday
Out on your corner in the pouring rain
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved
She will be loved

Tap on my window knock on my door
I want to make you feel beautiful…

It's not always rainbows and butterflies
It's compromise that moves us along
My heart is full and my door's always open
You can come anytime you want….

I know where you hide
Alone in your car
Know all of the things that
make you who you are…..

This is a song from Jacob’s perspective as he lets Bella know in New Moon (and to some extent Twilight and Eclipse) that he will always be there for her (which is something he does promise her in NM!), and that she is always welcome to come by to visit him—and that with him “she will be loved” (especially during NM). 
 

4. “All I Need” by Within Temptation

I'm dying to catch my breath
Oh why don't I ever learn?
I've lost all my trust,
though I've surely tried to turn it around

Can you still see the heart of me?
All my agony fades away
when you hold me in your embrace

(refrain)
Don't tear me down for all I need
Make my heart a better place
Give me something I can believe
Don't tear me down
You've opened the door now, don't let it close

I'm here on the edge again
I wish I could let it go
I know that I'm only one step away
from turning it around…..

Don't tear it down, what's left of me
Make my heart a better place….

I want to believe that this is for real
Save me from my fear
Don't tear me down

Here we see Bella’s emotions and perspective again during New Moon as she desperately seeks Jacob’s company, warmth, and comfort, wanting him to “make [her] heart a better place” and “give [her] something [she] can believe” after Edward has left.

5. “Kind and Generous” by Natalie Merchant

You've been so kind and generous
I don't know how you keep on giving
For your kindness I'm in debt to you
For your selflessness my admiration
For everything you've done you know I'm bound
I'm bound to thank you for it….

And I never could have come this far without you….
Oh, I want to thank you for so many gifts you gave
The love, the tenderness, I wanna thank you
I want to thank you for your generosity, the love
And the honesty that you gave me
I want to thank you, show my gratitude,
My love, and my respect for you, I want to thank you
Oh, I want to thank you, thank you; thank you, thank you….

This song sums up in a nutshell Bella’s feelings in New Moon and Eclipse concerning Jacob after he saves her life and sanity in New Moon.  As Bella explains to Edward in Eclipse, “If Jacob hadn’t helped me…I’m not sure what you would have come home to.  I owe him.”  This song beautifully expresses Bella’s deep and abiding gratitude to Jacob for all of his help and love. 

6. “How to Save a Life” by The Fray
 

 Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
How to save a life
How to save a life

The refrain of this song evokes Jacob’s desperate attempts to convince Bella to “choose life” over vampirism in Eclipse, with the lines “I would have stayed up with you all night/ Had I known how to save a life,” and the manner in which the girl in the song is trying to sit a reluctant loved one down and broach an unwelcome but important topic with them is reminiscent of Jacob’s persistence in pursuing sometimes unwelcome conversations on the matter with Bella as part of his efforts to save her life.

You can download the zip file with all the songs in .wma format, the cover art, and the lyrics and explanations here.