Tennis is Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore, a husband/wife duo from Denver, C… Read Full Bio ↴Tennis is Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore, a husband/wife duo from Denver, Colorado, who began making music together as Tennis in 2010. Their music mixes indie pop mixed with 1970s styled soul and 1980s styled new wave music, and is notable for Alaina Moore's distinctive expressive singing voice and Riley's melodic guitar playing. Tennis usually produces their own music and has their own record label called Mutually Detrimental.

The idea for the project began one day a couple of years ago when Alaina made fun of Patrick for playing tennis in college. A year later the two fled their hometown Denver to spend eight months sailing and exploring the North Atlantic coast. During their adventures they began writing music together documenting their experiences. The Longboat Pass Songfacts reports that the pair eventually recorded their songs. The resulting album, Cape Dory, is about their time on the seas, the majority of the tracks being about the difficulties they experienced during their trip.

There other artists with the same name:

2. Australian Indie band containing two brothers, two cousins and a mystery bass player. Tennis have left the halcyon days of art school behind in pursuit of the perfect musical storm. Tennis played their first gig at a strip club in Surry Hills circa ’06, simultaneously debuting in Sydney’s indie and adult entertainment scenes.
Pursuing the former rather than the latter, Tennis have since graced the stages of many more credible venues, supporting the likes of; Matt & Kim(USA), The Ruby Suns(NZ), Wolf and Cub, Children Collide, Lost Valentinos, Tame Impala and The Holidays. Their colliding beats, wild rhythms, melodic vocals and stark atmospheres meld into a festive music de force driving listeners into a sweaty rapture.

3. IDM project of Ben Edwards & Douglas Benford. Their releases:
Wooden Sweets (CD, 2000)
Duckshelf / Interview (7", Expanding 2001)
Europe On Horseback (CD, BiP_HOp 2001)
Furlines (2xCD, BiP_HOp 2003)

4. A now-defunct alternative pop/punk band from New York consisting of singer/guitarist Greg Tuohey, bassist Kris Bauman, and drummer Jochen Rueckert.

Never Been Wrong
Tennis Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I've never been wrong about anything or anyone
Irrefutable as the rising tide or setting sun
How can I work with all of this inexactness?
It's like doing needle point with a hatchet

I cannot hold the bright gaze of everything
And project a smile like sky split above rain
How can I suffer through another sunset?

It's like doing needle point with a hatchet

For a long time
I would obsess
I read the signs
But couldn't get past it

Lingua dicere potest
Non quid nescitur
Tu ne quaesieris
Visum miraculum
Lingua dicere potest
Non quid nescitur

For a long time
I was obsessed
It came to a point
I couldn't get past it
You asked but don't knock
You are the staff
striking the rock
I don't know how
It's never enough

I don't know how
It's never enough

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Never Been Wrong" by Tennis delve into the theme of self-assurance and the struggles that come with it. The singer proclaims their unwavering belief in their own judgment and intuition, asserting that they have never been wrong about anything or anyone. This unwavering confidence is likened to the undeniable forces of nature, such as the rising tide or setting sun, suggesting a sense of self-assurance bordering on arrogance. The juxtaposition of this assertion with the metaphor of "doing needlepoint with a hatchet" highlights the frustration and difficulty that comes with navigating the complexities of life with such rigid certainty.

As the song progresses, the singer reflects on the challenges of maintaining this facade of infallibility. They question how they can continue to project a facade of happiness and contentment in the face of uncertainty and imperfection. The imagery of holding "the bright gaze of everything" and forcing a smile through difficult moments like a sunset further emphasizes the struggle to uphold this facade, akin to the futile task of doing needlepoint with a hatchet. This internal conflict, between the need for certainty and the reality of life's complexities, adds depth to the narrative of the song.

The lyrics then delve into a period of obsession and introspection, where the singer grapples with the limitations of their certainty and discernment. Despite their attempts to decipher signs and understand the world around them, they find themselves unable to move past their own insecurities and uncertainties. The repetition of the phrase "I couldn't get past it" underscores the cyclical nature of this struggle, hinting at a sense of stagnation and internal conflict that the singer is unable to overcome.

The Latin phrases interspersed throughout the song add an air of cryptic mystique, further emphasizing the theme of uncertainty and the limits of knowledge. The singer acknowledges that language can only do so much in expressing the complexities of existence, and that there are truths beyond what is known or articulated. The final lines of the song reveal a sense of resignation and acceptance of this inherent inadequacy, as the singer grapples with the realization that their unwavering certainty and self-assuredness may ultimately fall short in the face of life's inherent unpredictability and imperfection.

Line by Line Meaning

I've never been wrong about anything or anyone
My intuition has always been accurate when it comes to judging situations or people

Irrefutable as the rising tide or setting sun
My beliefs are as certain and constant as natural phenomena like the tides or sunsets

How can I work with all of this inexactness?
I struggle to deal with uncertainties and ambiguities in life

It's like doing needle point with a hatchet
Trying to navigate delicate situations with a blunt and clumsy tool

For a long time
Over an extended period

I would obsess
I would fixate on things

I read the signs
I tried to interpret the signals or cues around me

But couldn't get past it
But I couldn't move beyond it

Lingua dicere potest
The tongue can tell

Non quid nescitur
Not what is unknown

Tu ne quaesieris
You do not seek