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, staring on the edge of safe
Calm down, I'm calling back to say
I'm home now, I'm coming around, coming around
Well, nobody likes to but I really like to cry
Nobody likes me, maybe if I cry

Spelled out your name and lists the reasons
Faint of heart, don't call me back
I imagine you when I was distant, non-insistent
I follow 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, staring on the edge of safe
Calm down, I'm calling back to say
I'm home now, I'm coming around, coming around
Well, nobody likes to but I really like to cry
Well, 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
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


Lyrics submitted by delial, edited by zooooomzooom

The Con Lyrics as written by Tegan Quin Sara Quin

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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The Con song meanings
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  • +8
    General Comment

    i think this song is about really losing control of yourself and doing things that you aren't proud of. It sounds like she maybe cheated on her girlfriend when she was out on the road, thus 'i am guilty of this, you should know this,' and 'a millions hours left to think of you and think of that.' It suggests that she had to spend the remainder of the tour feeling guilty about it. When she says 'encircle me, i need to be taken down,' it sounds kind of like a cry for help. like she's saying 'some one come here and stop me from doing all of this crazy shit.'

    0wlson June 05, 2007   Link
  • +7
    Song Meaning

    This song is about how Tegan Quin fell in love with a straight girl.

    ' “And,” she adds, “I was trying to date this girl who wasn’t available.”

    The object of Tegan’s affection wasn’t interested in dating women, but, as The Con’s scathing title track details, that didn’t deter Tegan from pursuing her anyway. As the two women formed a friendship, Tegan’s pitch became more desperate, more aggressive.

    “We were talking hours and hours a day and sending hundreds and hundreds of texts and e-mails, and spending all this money on trips, and there would be times where I would pull away and just ask her, ‘Why? Why are you still calling me? Why is this still continuing?’” Tegan recalls. “I felt like I was conning her. There was some magic in me that was making this person question everything and continue this dance with me.

    “During this whole ordeal I was very confident and outgoing, but in my alone time I was crying on the floor every day–and I enjoyed it,” Tegan adds. “I enjoyed every second of my misery. The deeper and the darker it went, the more pleasant it felt.”

    On “The Con,” Tegan brandishes her tears as a weapon, a means to elicit guilt and, subsequently, affection from her love interest. “Nobody likes me,” she sings as if working out her next move, “maybe if I cry…”'

    digiandzaboomafooon March 07, 2010   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    "the con"....as in deceving someone. in the song, there's an argument or a dispute, and the singer is thinking about how easy it would be if she just 'cried' because then people would feel bad for her. it's easy to do that. thinking about crying as means of taking the easy road, you become 'capsized staring at the edge of safe'. you get taken over by the thought of taking the easy road. because when you know you've fucked up, if you cry people will feel bad for you, even if you're not sorry. you just don't want to hear anymore shit. so you cry, hoping people are conned into believing you're sorry.

    N0_Exiton June 09, 2007   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    Doesn't she say "nobody blames me, maybe if I cry"? I think it makes much more sense than "nobody likes me"

    daferlnon June 23, 2007   Link
  • +2
    Lyric Correction

    It's actually "erring on the edge of safe" not "staring..." - that makes no sense! Source: Album

    annealiason December 14, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    i know this would be an obvious meaning to the song... since i'm interpreting it literally based on the lyrics (not sure how the songwriter using the lyrics in a literal sense or as a metaphor), but...

    i think she found out that her girlfriend cheated on her, and witnessed it. Then confronted the girlfriend about it, and realized that their relationship is over and the girlfriend is leaving for her new mate.

    amazonshopperon June 15, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    wow. What can i say about this song? I agree with jbabylove. I think it's about cheating as well. My sister recently went thru an affair. I don't know how many times I've cried while listening to this.

    It sounds to me like she cheated on her girlfriend while on tour...hence the "I'm home now. I'm coming around. I'm coming around," once she's done touring.

    She's obvioulsy feeling bad about it...and sorta wants to punish herself. "Pain of heart. Don't call me back." She has spent a alot of time thinking of her and thinking of "that."

    Yet at the same time, she wants to take the easy way out and cry...hoping her GF will feel pity and forgive her. That is the "edge of safe" she's staring at.

    "Encicle me, I need to be taken down." Just like Owls said, she has lost herself. She knows how many she has hurt. Maybe she can't stop. Somebody needs to bring her back down to earth.

    Those are my interpretations anyways. Whatever it means, I can most defintely feel the anguish and pain this is supposed to convey. Gosh, songs like this remind me of how much I love tegan and sara.

    yesterdaystomorrow1on June 18, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I love this song with a passion. It pretty much explains my life, haha. It's about being in love, and feeling weak about it. It's about falling apart and taping the pieces back together. It's about crying for attention. It's about feeling extremely sad. It's about feeling alone. I LOVE IT.

    Technophobiaon June 24, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I think that the singer (Tegan, of course) found out her respective other (girlfriend/maybe girlfriend/ect) was cheating on her while she was off on tour. And she didn't want it to ruin their relationship because she is just so alone she needs any person who will have her.

    I'm pretty sure its about a person she was almost going to date found someone else while she was gone. It's a starve for the person and attention during a time where she's been single and her sister has had a girlfriend for so long.

    Beautiful, and so godamn catchy.

    Daemonicuson June 30, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    i think that this song is obviously about a break up. to me, they are trying to convey the feeling of what it's like to know that a breakup is going to happen, or being paranoid about it happening.

    tiffanylee008on July 04, 2007   Link

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