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
I Couldn't Be Your Friend
Tegan and Sara Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Does your heart break when you think about me?
Now you wanna say, I was a liar
Led you astray, I won’t deny it
I did what they thought would be good for me
Now you wanna cry, call me a cheater
Left you to die, though I did neither
Thought that it would, that it would be best for me
Do you cry? Oh, do your worst
Do you talk? Oh do your worst
I couldn’t be your friend even if I tried again
I couldn’t be your friend (Wouldn’t be your friend)
Try to conceal it, I won’t believe it
Even if I tried again
I couldn’t be your friend (Wouldn’t be your friend)
Does your body shake when you get around me?
Does your body wake when you think about me?
Now you wanna say, I was a criminal
Stole you away, that sounds so fictional
I did what they thought would be good for me
Do you cry? Oh, do your worst
Do you talk? Oh do your worst
I couldn’t be your friend even if I tried again
I couldn’t be your friend (Wouldn’t be your friend)
Try to conceal it, I won’t believe it
Even if I tried again
I couldn’t be your friend (Wouldn’t be your friend)
Now you wanna say you had it all wrong
Now you wanna say you had me all wrong
Now you wanna say you had it all wrong
Now you wanna say you had me all wrong
I couldn’t be your friend even if I tried again
I couldn’t be your friend (Wouldn’t be your friend)
Try to conceal it, I won’t believe it
Even if I tried again
I couldn’t be your friend (Wouldn’t be your friend)
Try to conceal it, I won’t believe it
Even if I tried again
I couldn’t be your friend (Wouldn’t be your friend)
Couldn’t be your friend
The lyrics to Tegan and Sara's song "I Couldn't Be Your Friend" seem to be about a relationship that has ended badly. The singer appears to have hurt their partner and the partner is hurt and angry. The singer seems to be trying to justify their actions by saying that they did what they thought was best for themselves, even though it hurt their partner. The partner is hurt and angry and is trying to get the singer to admit that they were wrong and to try to make things better, but the singer is resigned to the fact that they can't be friends or even try to be friends again.
The chorus, "I couldn't be your friend even if I tried again," seems to be the singer's way of saying that their actions have made it impossible for them to even attempt to be friends with their ex-partner again. The use of the phrase "even if I tried again" suggests that the singer has attempted to reconcile with their partner before, but it hasn't worked out.
The repetition of the questions "does your heart ache when you get around me" and "does your body shake when you get around me" suggest that the singer is still affecting their partner, even though they are no longer together. The repetition of the line "I did what they thought would be good for me" suggests that the singer is blaming outside influences for their actions, rather than taking responsibility for them.
Line by Line Meaning
Does your heart ache when you get around me?
Do you feel pain in your heart when you are near me?
Does your heart break when you think about me?
Do you feel heartbroken when you think of me?
Now you wanna say, I was a liar
Now you want to accuse me of lying
Led you astray, I won’t deny it
I made you lose your way, and I admit it
I did what they thought would be good for me
I did what I thought was best for myself
Now you wanna cry, call me a cheater
Now you want to cry and call me a cheater
Left you to die, though I did neither
I didn't leave you to die, but I also didn't save you
Thought that it would, that it would be best for me
I thought it would be the best for me
Do you cry? Oh, do your worst
Are you crying? Go ahead and do your worst
Do you talk? Oh do your worst
Are you talking? Go ahead and do your worst
I couldn’t be your friend even if I tried again
I couldn't be your friend even if I attempted it again
I couldn’t be your friend (Wouldn’t be your friend)
I am unable to be your friend (I refuse to be your friend)
Try to conceal it, I won’t believe it
Even if you try to hide it, I won't believe you
Now you wanna say you had it all wrong
Now you want to admit you misunderstood everything
Now you wanna say you had me all wrong
Now you want to say that you got me all wrong
Try to conceal it, I won’t believe it
Even if you try to hide it, I won't believe you
Even if I tried again
Even if I attempted it again
Couldn’t be your friend
I am unable to be your friend
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: SARA KEIRSTEN QUIN, TEGAN RAIN QUIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind