"Alligator" is the second single taken from Canadian rock duo Tegan and Sara's sixth studio album Sainthood (2009). It was originally released in the United Kingdom in October 2009, a day before the release of the album, as a digital download. In March 2010, the single was released 17 track remix album in the United Kingdom, United States and Canada as a digital download and 12" vinyl. The single charted at number 32 in the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs.

Sara has stated that the song "was the first song I wrote for Tegan and Sara that didn’t involve guitar whatsoever. There were lots of songs I’d written where I took guitars out or fooled with the instrumentation later on, but Alligator was the first song that I sat down and wrote without even thinking of the guitar. I picked a piano riff that I thought was cool, looped it, and just started building from there."

"Alligator" received positive reactions from critics. Allmusic writer Tim Sendra called the song "catchy", while BBC said "Sara’s songs are woozy, inventive, heavily electronic affairs: cold, stark opener "Arrow", the seasick, disembodied "Night Watch" and the baroque disco of "Alligator" are all her tracks and all album highlights."Pitchfork Media said in a review of the album that ""On Directing" or "Alligator"" were "two obvious album highlights", and in a review of the track itself by Dan Weiss said "Nothing on Gossip's club-oriented new album will sound as good on the floor as the "over you, over you" chants designed to negate the alligator tears of the title here".

The video for "Alligator" starts off with Sara lying in a bed covered in snow, and Tegan inside of an igloo as they both sing the song. Sara then walks over to the igloo and takes out a brick to see Tegan. The igloo then collapses, and Sara tries to find Tegan in the bricks. She finds her and pulls her out, and they then lie on the bricks. Interspersed with the video, it shows Tegan and Sara with other people dancing.

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