Joe King, one of the co-founders ofThe Fray, may have been in over his head when he ignited a social media conversation about one of the band's biggest hit songs.
In aTikTok videouploaded earlier this week, King divulged a few facts about the making of the group's smash hit song, "Over My Head (Cable Car), which came out in 2005—but it called into question some information that fans already thought they knew.
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In King's video—which appeared to be his take on a recentTikToktrend of sending a message to one's younger self—he wrote, "when you're 22 you'll start a band and become a dad. everyone will say you're in over your head. it's very important that you write a song about it."
Fans were certain that King must have been referring to "Over My Head," considering the context, but some users in the comments said they were under the impression that the group's former frontman, co-founderIsaac Slade, wrote that song about his brother.
Slade, who left the group in 2022, was previously believed to have been inspired for the song by his relationship with his brother Caleb, whose nickname was "Cable Car," according toWikipedia.
Some fans commented on King's post to accuse him of "rewriting history" now that Slade is no longer in the band, forcing King to come to his own defense about the real meaning behind the track.
"Was written about Isaac and his brother, but ok," one critic alleged in the comments, to which King replied, "That's certainly one part of the story.."
"Think I'm gonna trust the guy who was actually in the studio brotha 🫡" one user wrote in defense of King, while another commenter echoed, "I love how you're telling someone IN THE BAND about their own song 🙄🙄🙄."
"Who would have thought a The Fray TikTok could go viral because of a song meaning dispute. Haha" another fan said, making light of the heated debate.
But in an attempt to put the argument to rest, many users pointed out that both King and Slade are credited as songwriters on the track.
"So they wrote it together," one user concluded.
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This story was originally published byParadeon Jan 11, 2026, where it first appeared in theCelebssection. Add Parade as aPreferred Source by clicking here.
