Tegan and Sara - The Cure

One of my very favorite Tegan and Sara songs is “The Cure” from their “Sainthood” album. I have never heard this song live. It is not one of their more well-known songs. But it is probably in my top five favorites of theirs.

“Sainthood” is absolutely Tegan and Sara’s most rock and roll album. Which is why it is my favorite. Which is a crazy thing to say given how near perfect “So Jealous” and “The Con” are. Even, I think I am crazy for liking “Sainthood” more then those two albums.

“The Cure” is a highly emotional song, but saying that, I guess the majority of Tegan and Sara’s songs are deeply emotional. It has a verse that sticks with me as a mantra, as much, or more then “Where Does the Good Go’s” chorus.

“I know the world's been mean to you.
I've got a cure; hold tight.
I know the world's not fair to you.
I've got a cure for its crimes.”

I say this as a mantra all the time. But, for me, the song “The Cure,” is equal parts song and riddle. What is the cure for all the pain Tegan describes in the track?

Like many, maybe even most, Tegan and Sara songs, there are a lot of lyrics implying a broken relationship. Those girls must have had a rough go at love for a long time… no wonder I find their songs so easy to connect with. “The Cure” is loaded with lyrics describing a collapsing relationship. The chorus pretty says exactly that.

“All I dreamed up,
All that seemed like luck,
Seems silly to you now.
All I said to you,
All I did for you,
Seems so silly to me now.”

The songs with the repeating information:

“I’ve got a cure.
I’ve got a cure for you.”

What is the cure? Well I do not believe it is a complicated riddle. The second verse basically tells us:

“I know that bad’s got to fix itself,
Correct over time.
And, I know 'cause I've got the cure.
I've got a cure for your crimes.”

It's time right?

Like, I do not know if that is exactly what Tegan Quin is suggesting in this song, but that is always how I have taken it. The cure for the heartbreak, is time. The cure of all the cruelty and pain is time. The song feels infinitely universally relatable. All our ails, all of them, can be cured in time.

It is the only cure for the world’s crimes.

So, to literally everyone I have ever met, I say to you:

“I know the world's been mean to you.
I've got a cure; hold tight.
I know the world's not fair to you.
I've got a cure for its crimes.”

See why I like that second verse so much?

Stay strong everyone. The cure is time.