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.

This Isn't My Song
Tennis Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

If it's not the end
Then it's the means
That's your way
Of doing things

All these simple melodies
Find their way into your memory
This will never be my song

This one was meant for you all along
It's nothing profound
Just as we turn, ah

If it's not the end
Then it's the means
That's your way
Of doing things

Stacks of paper
Muted white
Lay neglected in the glaring light
I will always be your girl
In the still point of the turning world
But this isn't my song
This isn't my song

It's nothing profound
Just as we turn, oh

If it's not the end
Then it's the means
That's your way
Of doing things

If it's not the end
Then it's the means
That's your way
Of doing things

If it's not the end
Then it's the means

That's your way
Of doing things

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Tennis's song This Isn't My Song consist of repetition of the phrase "If it's not the end, then it's the means, that's your way of doing things" and the recognition of a simple melody which is not the singer's own but is instead meant for someone else. The song poetically reflects on the way memory works, through describing the ability of "simple melodies" to find their way into memory. Through these lyrics, the song seems to acknowledge the inevitability of memory and its impact on what we do and think, while also recognizing that "this isn't my song."

The song's recognition of memory and its connection to music reflect a broader theme in Tennis's music, which often incorporates nostalgic and sentimental lyrics. The song's use of repetition and simple phrasing maintain a grounded and melancholy mood that reflects the song's broader focus.

Line by Line Meaning

If it's not the end
If this isn't the end of our relationship or situation

Then it's the means
Then it's the ways that we execute things

That's your way
That's the way you do things

Of doing things
Of achieving or accomplishing something

All these simple melodies
All these uncomplicated musical compositions

Find their way into your memory
Are easy to remember and stick in your mind

This will never be my song
This song was never meant to be mine

This one was meant for you all along
This song was meant for you from the beginning

It's nothing profound
It's not deep or insightful

Just as we turn, ah
Just like how life goes on

Stacks of paper
Piles of pages