At Seventeen chords by Ian Janis

• Difficulty: Beginner

Verse 1:

  A
I learned the truth at seventeen
   Bm
That love was meant for beauty queens
  E
And high school girls with clear-skinned smiles
  A
Who married young and then retired
  A
The valentines I never knew
  Bm
The Friday night charades of youth
   E
Were spent on one more beautiful
  A
At seventeen I learned the truth

Chorus:
   C
And those of us with ravaged faces
Bm       E
Lacking in the social graces
Am       Dm
Desperately remained at home
Am        Dm
Inventing lovers on the phone
  F          E
Who called to say, "Come dance with me"
  Am        Dm
And murmured vague obscenities
  Bm
It isn't all it seems
  E
At seventeen


Verse 2:
  A
A brown-eyed girl in hand-me-downs
    Bm
Whose name I never could pronounce
    E
Said, "Pity, please, the ones who serve
   A
They only get what they deserve"
    A
And the rich-relationed hometown queen
Bm
Marries into what she needs
    E
With a guarantee of company
  A
And haven for the elderly


Chorus:
 C
Remember those who win the game
Dm          E
Lose the love they sought to gain
 Am       Dm
In debentures of quality
  Am      Dm
And dubious integrity
   F          E
Their small town eyes will gape at you
  Am          Dm
In dull surprise when payment due
 Bm
Exceeds accounts received
  E
At seventeen


Verse 3:
  A
To those of us who knew the pain
  Bm
Of valentines that never came
  E
And those whose names were never called
   A
When choosing sides for basketball
   A
It was long ago and far away
  Bm
The world was younger than today
   E
When dreams were all they gave for free
  A
To ugly duckling girls like me

Chorus:
   C
We all play the game and when we dare
 Bm
To cheat ourselves at solitaire
   Am     Dm
Inventing lovers on the phone
  Am      Dm
Repenting other lives unknown
  F          E
They call and say, "Come dance with me"
 Am        Dm
And murmur vague obscenities
  Bm
At ugly girls like me
   E
At seventeen