Subject: Lyr Add: AT SEVENTEEN (Janis Ian)
From:
Alison
Date: 19 Jun 97 - 08:53 PM
Hi
It's a good song.
AT SEVENTEEN
Janis Ian
I learned the truth at seventeen,
That love was meant for beauty queens
And high school girls with clear skin smiles
Who married young and then retired.
The valentines I never knew,
The Friday night charades of youth
Where spent on one more beautiful,
At seventeen, I learned the truth.
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.
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."
And the rich relation hometown queen
Marries into what she needs
With a guarantee of company
And haven for the elderly.
Remember those who win the game
Lose the love they sought to gain,
And debt? Ensures of quality,
And dubious integrity.
The small town eyes will gaze at you,
And dull surprise when payment due
Exceeds accounts received, at seventeen.
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.
It was long ago and far away,
The world was younger than today,
And dreams were all they gave for free
To ugly duckling girls like me.
We all play the game and when we dare
To cheat ourselves at solitaire
Inventing lovers on the phone,
Repenting other lives unknown
That called and said, "Come dance with me,"
And murmured vague obscenities
To ugly girls like me, at seventeen.
Slainte
alison
|
sj
