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
Nineteen
Tegan and Sara Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Before I ever met you
And when I lay beside you
For the first time, I told you
I feel you in my heart
And I don't even know you
And now we're saying bye, bye, bye
I was nineteen
Call me
I felt you in my life
Before I ever thought to
I need to lay down
Beside you and tell you
I feel you in my heart
And I don't even know you
And now we're saying bye, bye, bye
And now were saying bye, bye, bye
I was nineteen
Call me
I was nineteen
Call me
Flew home, back to where we met
Stayed inside, I was so upset
Cooked up a plan so good except
I was all alone, you were all I had
Love you
You were all mine
Love me
I was yours, right?
I was yours, right?
I was nineteen
Call me (bye, bye)
I was nineteen
Call me (bye, bye)
The lyrics of Tegan and Sara's song "Nineteen" tell the story of love at first sight, of feeling a connection to someone before even meeting them. The singer describes feeling the presence of their lover in their legs and their heart, even though they don't know them yet. When they finally do meet, they feel the need to tell their lover how much they feel for them even though they are just beginning their relationship. As the song continues, the couple separates, and the singer reflects on their time together and how much they are willing to do to keep the love alive.
The age of the singer, nineteen, contributes to the overall theme of young love and young adulthood. The strong emotions that come with first instances of love and heartbreak are amplified by the emotions of teenage years, making it an especially poignant time in many people's lives. The lyrics of "Nineteen" capture that feeling of newness, of the anticipation of what love can bring and the fear of loss.
Overall, "Nineteen" is a song about the intensity and passion of young love, the feeling of wanting to give everything to that love, and the heartbreak that comes when it inevitably ends. The nostalgic feeling of looking back on that time in one's life can resonate with listeners of all ages, regardless of whether or not they experienced love at nineteen.
Line by Line Meaning
I felt you in my legs
I had a physical longing for you even before we met
Before I ever met you
Even before meeting you, I knew I was in love with you
And when I lay beside you
When I first got close to you
For the first time, I told you
I expressed my love to you when we lay together for the first time
I feel you in my heart
I sense your presence in my heart and soul all the time
And I don't even know you
I am still so deeply in love with you without actually knowing you
And now we're saying bye, bye, bye
We are parting our ways now
And now we're saying bye, bye, bye
We are parting our ways now
I was nineteen
I was in love at nineteen
Call me
Contact me sometime
I felt you in my life
I felt your influence in my existence before I even realized it
Before I ever thought to
Before even considering we might have a future together
I need to lay down
I wanted to be with you so badly
Beside you and tell you
To express my love to you close to you
Flew home, back to where we met
I flew back to our hometown where we first met
Stayed inside, I was so upset
I was sad and couldn't bring myself to leave my house
Cooked up a plan so good except
I thought of an amazing plan except it didn't work as I was expecting
I was all alone, you were all I had
You were my only refuge, I was empty without you
Love you
I love you
You were all mine
You were only meant to be mine
Love me
Please love me back
I was yours, right?
I belonged to you, right?
I was yours, right?
I belonged to you, right?
I was nineteen
I was so hopelessly in love when I was nineteen
Call me (bye, bye)
Call me, but we have to say goodbye now
I was nineteen
I was so hopelessly in love when I was nineteen
Call me (bye, bye)
Call me, but we have to say goodbye now
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Sara Keirsten Quin, Tegan Rain Quin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Denny
I felt you in my legs before I ever met you
And when I laid beside you for the first time, I told you
I feel you in my heart and I don't even know you
[Pre-Chorus]
Now we're saying bye
Bye, bye
Now we're saying bye
Bye, bye
[Chorus]
I was nineteen
Call me
[Verse 2]
I felt you in my life before I ever thought to
Feel the need to lay down beside you and tell you
I feel you in my heart and I don't even know you
[Pre-Chorus]
And now we're saying bye
Bye, bye
Now we're saying bye
Bye, bye
[Chorus]
I was nineteen
Call me
I was nineteen
Call me
[Bridge]
Flew home, back to where we met
Stayed inside, I was so upset
Cooked up a plan so good except I was all alone
You were all I had
Love you
You were all mine
Love me
I was yours right?
I was yours right?
[Chorus]
I was nineteen
Call me (bye, bye)
I was nineteen
Call me (bye, bye)
Märit Totten
I think this live performance is even better than the original recording.
Calm Hive
agreed
Tag Screamer
Totally agree
Chris Rudolph
Märit Totten I partially agree but I love the drums in the recording. That is one aspect I have never been 100% happy with even in non-acoustic live versions of this song.
Kisha Jones
Märit Totten i love the way you can really hear the emotion in her voice
Secret C
that'll be the autotune
Ken Gardner
Heard this version before the original and could never go back to original version! Soooo good still in 2022!
thatswhatsup0493
Same!
Kit C
This song perfectly captures the horror of losing the love of your life and being completely unprepared and unable to deal with it. It's like drowning in the open air. Eight years on and I still think about her every day and every time I hear Nineteen. T&S understand the human condition like few other bands.
Jennifer R
Me too!