Tegan and Sara are an indie pop/indie rock duo which formed in Calgary, Alb… Read Full Bio ↴Tegan and Sara are an indie pop/indie rock duo which formed in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1995. The band consists of identical twin sisters Tegan Quin and Sara Quin (born September 19, 1980). Both sisters play the guitar and keyboards, and write their songs. They tour with a backing band and they're notorious for their stage banter.

The duo has released nine studio albums so far: Under Feet Like Ours (1999), This Business of Art (2000), If It Was You (2002), So Jealous (2004), The Con (2007), Sainthood (2009), Heartthrob (2013), Love You to Death (2016) and Hey, I'm Just Like You (2019). They also issued the live album/DVD Get Along in 2011 and their memoir High School in 2019.

Tegan and Sara initially played as Plunk in 1995, and lacked a drummer and bass player. In 1997, they used their school’s recording studio to record two demo albums: Who's in Your Band? and Play Day.

In 1998, they made an early breakthrough by winning Garage Warz Battle of the Bands, a local music competition in Calgary. Since then, the two have toured with Neil Young, Rufus Wainwright, Kaki King, The Pretenders, Ben Folds, The Killers, Rachael Cantu, Vivek Shraya, Cake, Gogol Bordello, Hot Hot Heat, Ryan Adams, Veda Hille, Little Birdy, Iron On, Little Brazil, Bryan Adams, and Weezer, and they performed a show at Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair.

They are signed to Neil Young's Vapor Records in Canada, and to Sire in the United States as their previous label, Sanctuary Records, is no longer releasing new music in the United States.

When they were competing in Garage Warz, they were known as "Sara and Tegan" because that is how their mother registered them on the competition forms. Their first album, Under Feet Like Ours, was initially released under the name "Sara and Tegan". While both twins are similarly involved in vocals and playing instruments, the singing of the lead melody usually goes to whichever twin wrote the particular song. The two hardly sang together in the recordings of their early records, but they started to more on their later records and when live.

On their 2004 album, So Jealous, the two lend their unusual voices and simple guitar riffs to power pop ballads about love and emotional, haunting songs such as "Walking With a Ghost".

The fifth album, The Con, released July 24, 2007, showed a shift in style towards darker tunes compared to the relatively upbeat indie pop of So Jealous. The singles "Back in Your Head", "The Con" and "Call It Off" were issued to support the album. The twins toured the album for over a year and a half.

Their sixth studio album, entitled Sainthood, was released on October 27th, 2009, to generally positive reviews. The album included the singles "Hell", "Alligator", "On Directing" and "Northshore".

Tegan and Sara also collaborated with many other artists, including Tiësto for the single "Feel It in My Bones" (from the album Kaleidoscope, 2009), and Morgan Page for the single "Body Work" (from the album In the Air, 2012).

"Closer", the first single from their seventh album was produced by Californian pop producer Greg Kurstin. The song was made available for download September 25, 2012. On 29 January 2013, Tegan and Sara released their seventh studio album, Heartthrob.

The duo's eighth studio album, titled Love You To Death, was released on 3 June 2016. The lead single Boyfriend was released on 8 April. Greg Kurstin returned as the producer.

On October 20, 2017, the duo released a compilation album titled Tegan and Sara Present the Con X: Covers, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of The Con. The compilation contains covers of each song performed by various artists, as well as a previously unreleased demo “Miami Still”, performed by the duo. The proceeds of the record and subsequent tour benefitted the Tegan and Sara Foundation, which raises money for self-identified women and girls in the LGBTQ community.

The duo released their memoir, High School, on 27 September 2019. It recounts their childhood and adolescence growing up in Alberta in the 1990s as well as their musical beginnings. The book debuted at number fifteen on The New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction best-sellers list. Along with the book, Tegan and Sara's released their ninth studio album, Hey, I'm Just Like You, which contains re-recordings of unreleased demo songs that the duo recorded as teenagers. The record was produced by Alex Hope and is the first Tegan and Sara record produced, performed, engineered, mixed, and mastered by a team of all women. The band embarked on a US, Canada and UK tour to promote the book and album, playing mostly acoustically, reading excerpts from the book and incorporating old video footage from the band's teenage years.

The current live touring band members include Ted Gowans (guitar; 2004-present), Jasper Leak (bass; 2012-present), John Spence (keyboards; 2012-present), and Adam Christgau (drums; 2013-present). Former live touring band members include Johnny Andrews (drums; 2006-2010), Shaun Huberts (bass; 2007-2010), Dan Kelly (bass; 2007), Chris Carlson (bass; 2001-2005), Rob Chursinoff (drums; 2001-2005) and Jason McGerr (drums; 2012).

Official site: http://www.teganandsara.com

Alligator
Tegan and Sara Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Sensitive
It's true
Alligator tears cried over you
Over you, over you
Over you, over you

Run around on me
Sooner die without

Run around on me
Die without

Relentless
Yes, it's true
My motor mouth
Runs over you
Over you, over you
Over you, over you

Run around on me
Sooner die without
Run around on me
Die without

Over you, over you
Over you, over you
Over you, over you
Over you, over you

Run around on me
Sooner die without
Run around on me
Die without

No hissy fits, mind my manners
Won't make a scene, oh

Over you
Over you, over you
Over you
Over you, over you

Run around on me
Sooner die without
Run around on me
Die without

Rattled, yes, it's true
Alligator tears spilled over you

Run around on me
Sooner die without
Run around on me
Die without
Run around on me
Sooner die without
Run around on me
Die without

Over you, over you (over you)
Over you, over you
Over you, over you (over you)
Over you, over you (over you)

Over you, over you
Over you, over you

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Tegan and Sara's song "Alligator" are about a relationship where one person feels taken advantage of and hurt by the other. The person declares their sensitivity and confesses to having cried "alligator tears" over the one who has wronged them. They are willing to let the other person go, but also express their anger and hurt by declaring that they would "sooner die" than continue to let the other person run around and hurt them. The chorus repeats the phrases "over you" and "run around on me," emphasizing the singer's pain and desire to move on from the situation.

The second verse sees the singer becoming more aggressive as they declare their relentlessness and desire to be heard. They describe themselves as having a "motor mouth" that runs over the person who has hurt them. However, the chorus remains the same, with the repeated refrain of "over you" and "run around on me" continuing to express the singer's pain and frustration.

The bridge of the song sees the singer trying to remain calm and maintain their composure, describing themselves as not throwing "hissy fits" and minding their manners. However, the chorus returns once again, with the singer confessing to feeling rattled and crying alligator tears over the person who has wronged them. The song ends with a repetition of the refrain, emphasizing the singer's desire to move on from the situation and not be hurt any further.

Line by Line Meaning

Sensitive
I am emotionally sensitive

It's true
This sensitivity is a genuine part of my identity

Alligator tears cried over you
I have shed tears over you, but they are insincere and manipulative

Over you, over you
I am fixated on you and can't move past what you've done to me

Run around on me
You have betrayed my trust by cheating on me

Sooner die without
I would rather die than be with someone who disrespects me

Relentless
I will not give up on punishing you for your transgressions

My motor mouth
I can't control my urge to criticize and blame you

Runs over you
My words are hurtful and damaging to you

No hissy fits, mind my manners
I am trying to appear mature and reasonable, but my actions betray my true nature

Won't make a scene, oh
I won't cause a public disturbance, but I will continue to take revenge in subtle ways