album cover
At Seventeen
28,119
Pop
At Seventeen was released on November 1, 2013 by Columbia as a part of the album Loved Me Back to Life
album cover
Release DateNovember 1, 2013
LabelColumbia
Melodicness
Acousticness
Valence
Danceability
Energy
BPM114

Music Video

Music Video

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
I learned the truth at seventeen
That love was meant for beauty queens
And high school girls with clear-skinned smiles
Who married young and then retired
[Verse 2]
My valentines I never knew
The Friday night charades of youth
Were spent on one more beautiful
At seventeen I learned the truth
[Chorus]
And those of us with ravaged faces, lacking in the social graces
Desperately remained at home, inventing lovers on the phone
Who called to say, "Come dance with me" and murmured vague obscenities
It isn't all it seems at seventeen
[Verse 3]
A brown-eyed girl in hand-me-downs
Whose name I never could pronounce
Said, "Pity, please, the ones who serve
They only get what they deserve"
[Verse 4]
The rich-relationed hometown queen
Who marries into what she needs
With a guarantee of company
And haven for the elderly
[Chorus]
So remember, those who win the game lose the love they sought to gain
In debentures of quality and dubious integrity
And their small-town eyes will gape at you in dull surprise when payment's due
Exceeds accounts received at seventeen
[Verse 5]
And to those of us who knew the pain
Of valentines that never came
And those whose names were never called
When choosing sides for basketball
[Verse 6]
It was long ago and far away
The world was younger than today
When dreams were all they gave for free
To ugly duckling girls like me
[Chorus]
We all play the game, and when we dare we cheat ourselves at solitaire
Inventing lovers on the phone, repenting other lives unknown
That call and say, "Come dance with me" and murmur vague obscenities
At ugly girls like me at seventeen
Written by: Janis Ian
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