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 schoolβs 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 TiΓ«sto 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 βMiami Stillβ, 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
Are You Ten Years Ago
Tegan and Sara Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm up and doing circles
I'm taken, I am yours (If you go, you go)
I'm up and doing circles
I'm taken, I am yours (If you show, you show)
I'm up and doing circles
I'm taken, I am yours (If you go, you go)
I'm up and doing circles
I collapse
I might stay out longer than I left the light on for you
Then if you show, you show
If you show, you show
When I feel like this
When I get so into myself
I lose track of where I'm going
And lose track of how to get going again
Feel myself slowing down
Feel myself turning around
Is this taken?
When I feel like this
When I get so sick of myself
Where are you going now without me
And not knowing then, that we're slowing down
You've gotta turn that around
And tell me that I'm taken, tell me if I'm yours
You collapse
The pressure of this life is so
You can't be held accountable
If you go, you go
If you go, you go
When you act like this
When you get so sick, of yourself
The whole world falls away and since I feel
Like I have only missed the feeling that I'm here again
The feeling that I'm clear again
I'm not taken
When you act like this
When you get so into yourself
I lose sight of common goals
And letting go so I can be all alone
Feel myself, going slow
Feel myself, letting go
Not taken, not feeling like I'm yours
If you're taken I am yours
I'm up and doing circles
I'm taken, I am yours (If you go, you go)
I'm up and doing circles
I'm taken, I am yours (If you show, you show)
I'm up and doing circles
I'm taken, I am yours (If you go, you go)
I'm up and doing circles
I collapse
This life looks like a sentence, though
A constant game of falling short
If you know, you know
If you know, you know
When I feel like this
When I'm just so sick of feeling less than perfect
Isn't right for me
I never fight to see if coming clean would get to me
I feel myself, holding back
I feel the pressure, it's finally back
I'm taken
When you feel like this
When you saw it call come crashing down
Subtle but not underground
I was there, I saw the signs, I saw unfair
And so I write to you through other means
I let myself finally feel taken
Like I was yours
If you're taken I am yours (I feel taken)
I'm up and doing circles
I'm taken, I am yours (I feel)
I'm up and doing circles
If you're taken I am yours (I feel taken)
I'm up and doing circles
I'm taken, I am yours (I feel)
I'm up and doing circles
If you're taken I am yours (I feel taken)
I'm up and doing circles
I'm taken, I am yours (I feel)
I'm up and doing circles
I'm taken, I am yours (I feel taken)
I'm up and doing circles
I'm taken, I am yours (I feel)
I'm up and doing circles
I'm taken, I am yours (I feel taken)
I'm up and doing circles
I'm taken, I am yours (I feel)
I'm up and doing circles
I collapse
I collapse
I collapse
The lyrics of Tegan and Sara's song Are You Ten Years Ago communicate the feeling of losing oneself in a relationship and how it can be overwhelming. The repetition of "If you're taken, I am yours" communicates a willingness to submit oneself entirely to the other person, even to the point of feeling lost without them. The lyric "I'm up and doing circles" suggests a sense of being lost or stuck without direction, feeling like there is no way out. Additionally, the repeated phrase "I collapse" adds to the sense of being overwhelmed and on the brink of breakdown.
Line by Line Meaning
If you're taken I am yours
If you belong to someone else, I am yours to take
I'm up and doing circles
I'm anxiously waiting for something to happen
I'm taken, I am yours (If you go, you go)
I belong to you but if you leave, you leave
I collapse
I feel overwhelmed and helpless
I might stay out longer than I left the light on for you
I might be gone for a while, longer than I intended
Then if you show, you show
If you come back, you come back
When I feel like this
When I feel lost and confused
I lose track of where I'm going
I forget my direction in life
And lose track of how to get going again
I forget how to move forward
Is this taken?
Am I in a relationship?
When I get so sick of myself
When I become discontented with who I am
Where are you going now without me
Where have you gone and left me behind?
You've gotta turn that around
You need to come back and make things right
And tell me that I'm taken, tell me if I'm yours
And confirm that I belong to you
The pressure of this life is so
The weight of life is crushing me
You can't be held accountable
You're not responsible for what happens
When you act like this
When you behave in this way
The whole world falls away and since I feel
Everything else disappears and I am left with my emotions
Like I have only missed the feeling that I'm here again
Like I've been disconnected from myself and now I'm starting to feel alive again
Not taken, not feeling like I'm yours
Not in a relationship, not feeling like I belong to someone
The life looks like a sentence though
Life feels like a prison sentence
A constant game of falling short
Always struggling to measure up to expectations
If you know, you know
If you've experienced this, you understand
When I'm just so sick of feeling less than perfect
When I'm tired of never being good enough
Isn't right for me
Doesn't feel like the right fit for me
I never fight to see if coming clean would get to me
I don't make an effort to reveal my true self
And so I write to you through other means
And so I communicate with you indirectly
I let myself finally feel taken
I allow myself to feel like I belong to someone
Lyrics Β© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Sara Keirsten Quin, Tegan Rain Quin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Top Gurl
I feel like this should have been a hit, but that's the same with a lot of Tegan and Sara songs. They will always be underrated to me. Amazing band.
Paola MendΓvil
I'm feeling very nostalgic right now. I love the Con so much. I love all their albums so much.
Starprise Entership
still their best album if you ask me, but maybe that's the sentimental value it holds on me showing
FryCanon
I really want to hear them sing this at a recent show. Love this album!!! LY2D was awesome too!!
Kendra Miller
if I had one word to describe Tegan and sara it would be amazing
Amber Dawn Steeves
Breathtaking ππ½β¨β¨β¨
Noah Kodeki
So cutting edge, and ahead of it's time, and timeless, and experimental, and perfect.
bashscrazy
Can't wait to hear this live!
Catalina Constanza
nothing better than listening to them!!
DamnMaIsItThat Serious
Not even 2 seconds and I already love it