Chords for Janis Ian - At Seventeen (Audio)

[G] [C] .
.
I learned the truth at seventeen [Dm] Their love was [Gbm] meant for [Dm].
beauty queens.
[G] And high school girls with clear-skinned [C] smiles Who married young and then retired .
The Valentines I never knew The [Dm] Friday night [D] .
charades of youth.
[G] Was spent on one more [C] beautiful At seventeen I learned the truth .
[Eb] Those of us with ravaged [F] faces Lacking [G] in the social [A] graces.
[Cm] Desperately [Fm] remained at home [Cm] Inventing [Fm] lovers on the [Eb] phone.
[Ab] Who called to [G] say, come dance with [Cm] me [Fm] Murmured faith of [D] senatives.
[F] It isn't all it seems [G] At seventeen.
A [Em] brown-eyed girl in hand [Am]-me [D]-downs Whose [F] name I never could [G] pronounce .
Said, pity please the ones who [C] serve They only get what they deserve.
[Em] .
Enriched, relationed, [Am] hometown queen [D].
Marries into what [Dm] she needs.
With a [G] .
guarantee of company [C] And haven for the elderly.
[Em] .
Remember [C] .
[Eb] those who win the [Dm] game Lose the [G] lovely, sordid [Cm] game.
In [Ab] debentures of quality [Cm] And dubious [Ab] integrity.
The small-town [G] eyes will gape at [Cm] you And all [Fm] surprise.
When payment [F] due Exceeds accounts received [B] At [G] seventeen.
[C] .
[G] [Am] [G] [F] .
[A] [F] [G] [Dm] .
[G] [F] [G] [C] .
[G] [Am] [Eb] .
[Dm] .
[G] [Eb] .
[Fm] [Cm] .
[Fm] [Bb] [Ab] .
[G] [Cm] [Fm] .
[Ab] [Dm] .
[G] [Dm] .
[C] .
To those of us who knew the pain Of [Dm] .
[D] Valentines that [F] never came.
[G] .
Those whose names were never called In choosing [C] sites for basketball.
[G] [Em].
It [C] was [G] long ago and far [C] away [F] The world was younger than [G] today.
And dreams were all they gave for free To [C].
ugly, duckling girls like me.
We [Eb] all play the game of when [F] We try to [Dm] cheat [G] ourselves, it's solitaire.
[Eb] Inventing [Ab] lovers on the phone [Cm] Repenting [Ab] other lives unknown.
They call and [G] say, come dance with [Cm] me [Fm] Murmur vague [A] obscenities.
[F] To ugly girls like me [G] At seventeen .
[C] .
[G] .
.
[N] .