At Seventeen
...AT SEVENTEEN... by Janis Ian
------------------.............
*from 'Between the Lines' (1975)*
Verse 1:
C
I learned the truth at seventeen,
Dm
That love was meant for beauty queens.
G7
And high school girls with clear skinned smiles,
C
Who married young and then retired.
C
The Valentines I never knew,
Dm
The friday nights charades of youth.
G7
Were spent on one more beautiful;
C
At seventeen, I learned the truth.
Chorus 1:
Eb
And those of us with ravaged faces,
Dm G7
Lacking in the social graces,
Cm7 Fm7
Desperatly re-mained at home,
Cm7 Fm7
Inventing lovers on the phone.
Ab G7
Who called and say; "Come dance with me",
Cm7 F7
And murmured vague ob-scenities.
Dm7 G7
It isn't all it seems, at seventeen.
Verse 2:
C
A brown eyed girl in hand-me-downs,
Dm
Who's name I never could pronounce,
G7
Said; "pity please, the ones who serve,
C
They only get what they deserve.
C
The rich relationed home-town queen,
Dm
Marries into what she needs.
G7
A guarantee of company,
C
And haven for the elderly".
Chorus 2:
Eb
Re-member those who win the game,
Dm G7
Lose the love they sought to gain.
Cm7 Fm7
In debentures of quality,
Cm7 Fm7
And dubious in-tegrity.
Ab G7
Their small town eyes will gape at you;
Cm7 Fm7
In dull surprise, when payment due;
Dm7 G7
Exceeds accounts received, at seventeen.
Verse 3:
C
To those of us who know the pain,
Dm
Of valentines that never came.
G7
And those whose name were never called,
C
When choosing side at basketball.
C
It was long ago and far away,
Dm
The world was younger than today.
G7
And dreams were all they gave for free,
C
To ugly duckling girls like me.
Chorus 3:
Eb
We all play the game and when we dare,
Dm7 G7
To cheat ourselves at solitaire.
Cm7 Fm7
In-venting lovers on the phone,
Cm7 Fm7
Re-penting other lives unknown.
Ab G7
That call and say; "Come dance with me",
Cm7 Fm7
And murmur vague ob-scenities,
Dm7 G7 C, Cmaj7
At ugly girls like me; at seventeen.
CHORD DIAGRAMS:
---------------
CDGEDm7
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
x32010 xx0231 323000 6654xx xx0211
CFACmaj7
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
x35343 131111 466544 x32000
Tabbed by Joel from cLuMsY, Bristol, England, 2004
(clumsyband@hotmail.com)