Janis Ian

At Seventeen

Janis Ian


Tom: A

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I learned the truth at seventeen That love was meant for beauty queens 
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and high school girls with clear skinned smiles who married young and then retired 
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The valentines I never knew, the friday nights, charades of youth  
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were spent on one more beautiful At  seventeen I learned the truth 
 
 
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And those of us with ravaged faces, lacking in the social graces 
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Desp'ratly remained at home inventing lovers on the phone 
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Who called and say "come dance with me" and murmured vague obscenities 
Dm7                      G7
It isn't all it seems at seventeen 
  
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A brown eyed girl in hand-me-downs, whose name I never could pronounce said 
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Pity, please, the ones who serve, they only get what they deserve. 
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The rich relationed home-town queen marries into what she needs 
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A guarantee of company and haven for the elderly" 
  
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Remember those who win the game, lose the love they sought to gain 
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In debentures of quality and dubious in tegrity 
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Their small town eyes will gape at you in dull surprise when payment due 
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exceeds accounts received at seventeen 
  
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To those of us who know the pain of valentines that never came, 
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and those whose name were never called when choosing side at basketball  
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It was long ago and far away The world was younger than today 
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and dreams were all they gave for free to ugly duckling girls like me 
 
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We all play the game and when we dare to cheat ourselves at solitaire 
  Cm7         Fm7          Cm7         Fm7
Inventing lovers on the phone, repenting other lives unknown 
    Ab            G7          Cm7         Fm7
that call and say "Come dance with me", and murmur vague obscenities 
Dm7                    G7     C   Cmaj7
at ugly girls like me, at seventeen