The Con
Description:
This is a song that Tegan Quin wrote and that appeared on the album The Con. Tegan sings the lead vocals and Sara sings the background vocals.
The music video was directed by Suzie Vlcek. It was filmed on September 18, 2007. It was released on October 23, 2007.
Video:
Lyrics:
I listened in, yes I'm guilty of this, you should know this
I broke down and wrote you back before you had a chance to
Forget forgotten, I am moving past this, giving notice
I have to go, yes I know the feeling, know you're leaving
Calm down, I'm calling you to say
I'm capsized, erring on the edge of safe
Calm down, I'm calling back to say
I'm home now and coming around, I'm coming around
Well nobody likes to but I really like to cry
Nobody likes me, maybe if I cry
Spelled out your name and list the reasons
Faint of heart don't call me back
I imagine you and I was distant, not insistent
I followed suit and laid out on my back, imagine that
A million hours left to think of you and think of that
Calm down, I'm calling you to say
I'm capsized, erring on the edge of safe
Calm down, I'm calling back to say
I'm home now and coming around, I'm coming around
Well nobody likes to but I really like to cry
Nobody likes me, maybe if I cry
Encircle me, I need to be taken down
Encircle me, I need to be taken down
Encircle me, I need to be taken down
Encircle me, I need to be taken down
Well nobody likes to but I really like to cry
Well nobody likes me, maybe if I cry
Nobody, nobody, nobody, nobody, nobody
Nobody, nobody, nobody, nobody
Encircle me, I need to be taken down
Encircle me, I need to be taken down
Encircle me, I need to be taken down
Trivia and Quotes:
The song was originally titled Encircle Me. It was changed so it could share its title with the album. Tegan still prefers the original title.
“Once you get through the first three or four months, that's when it all comes out. That's the con. You create this person that you're going to be, and then it all falls apart." - Tegan in 2007
It's not a video, it's real life! With most of our videos, Sara and I always have a lot of influence and certainly a big say in what a lot of our videos have looked like. This was only second time where we didn't write the treatment. And I chose it because I thought Suzie Vlcek, who directed it, came up with a great idea. I didn't go to therapy when I was writing this record, I probably should have but I didn't, so I think I was like 'therapy - yes, of course! Good idea.’
Sara and I aren't really into performance videos so you don't generally see us playing in our videos and when we do we look awkward and uncomfortable. I don't like to fake it and I don't like to act in videos either, so this was really easy. This was just: "Lay here and we're gonna record you in this chair in the therapist's office singing the song like 80 times!" And I love doing that. There was a small crew - only about four people in this room, so I just sang it over and over again, got myself real riled up and then they shot all those scenes of me tossing and turning in the bed and in the therapist's chair. And then, of course, there's the tossing and turning in the bath which was really terrifying, and I'm basically drowning or I'm possessed by some sort of demon.
In a weird way, writing this record was like being possessed by some sort of demon so the video captured the emotions and feelings I was going through when I was trying to write this record. I questioned so much, over this past year, about what I was doing with my life - and being in the band, so, in a weird way, being locked in the elevator with Sara was definitely something I could draw emotion from.
There was a very literal meaning to the video, which was: I'm at my therapist's office and my therapist is kind of a creep - unless you watch really closely you miss the shot where he's got the balaclava on - which is a tie-in from the 'Back In Your Head' video. And Sara's actually trying to find me and get me out of there.
Then of course there's this metaphor or dream-like idea,that I'm in this terrifying place. They say, when you dream of houses, you're dreaming about yourself. So this room would obviously represent all these terrifying dark places I've gone to.
The third part of making the video, for me, was like an exorcism. I was still feeling very emotional and resentful about a lot of things that happened to me and influenced that song. And when I watched the final edit I cried. I know that sounds cheesy but watching myself flail around - like when I'm in the bed - that was me for, like, a year. And I couldn't sleep and felt completely tortured and sad and self absorbed and trapped. So the director was dead on, with her interpretation of the song.
Credits:
Tegan Quin: Guitars, Keyboards, Vocals
Sara Quin: Vocals
Ted Gowans: Guitars
Hunter Burgan: Bass
Jason McGerr: Drums
Live Performances:
December 13, 2007 (Live At The Wireless: From The Vaults, Volume 3)
August 16, 2010 (Daytrotter Session)