Posted on 10/03/2018 7:08:44 PM PDT by mdittmar
Janis Ian - At Seventeen (Live, 1976)
A very powerful song, indeed.
A nice album. Miracle row is the best song. A talented young artist that kind of fizzled out. Not as talented as Laura Nyro who had more covers than you can imagine. She died early of cancer.
I knew too many women who identified with her. In this day of Ballsey-Ford it’s still up to the rest of us to step up. She wasn’t that hot at all so she acted out and became her own victim. That’s why Kavanaugh’s own young daughter prayed for her.
I really like At Seventeen and Jesse.
Great songwriter but I quit listening as she became more progressive.
I have no idea why you posted that.
A fine song. You want to reach back in time and drag her out of her depression.
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
The valentines I never knew
The Friday night charades of youth
Were 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”
The rich relationed hometown queen
Marries into what she needs
With a guarantee of company
And haven for the elderly
So remember those who win the game
Lose the love they sought to gain
In debitures of quality and dubious integrity
Their small-town eyes will gape at you
In 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
When dreams were all they gave for free
To ugly duckling girls like me...
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 on, dance with me”
And murmur vague obscenities
At ugly girls like me, at seventeen
I started thinking about it a couple weeks ago,couldn't remember the words,but that was 42 years ago.
That song still tears me up.
I can identify with it far too closely.
Why did I post it? It’s sad all the way round. Perhaps we can all learn something. One can be successful professionally and a total loser on the inside. It’s how it comes out.
Pity please the ones who serve. They only get what they deserve. What does that refer to? Please help me on that one.
Love Laura Nyro. A literal genius.
Not suremyself what some of the lyrics mean.
I’m not the poetic type.
I don’t have a PHD,but I do what I can;)
Perhaps the ugly ducklings who put out in an attempt to get attention and then are tossed aside and ridiculed?
Maybe it means this:
The singer believes that she is a social failure with no good marriage or job prospects in her future. She will be stuck in a low-paying servant-type job for the rest of her life. The brown-eyed girl told the singer that she deserved that fate.
those that serve get only what they deserve. the elite get more than they deserve. my guess...
Ian was the prototype for the wimpering liberal snowflakes of today.
And those whose names were never called
When choosing sides for basketball
*sniffle*
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