At Seventeen

C                                              Dm 
I learned the truth at seventeen That love was meant for beauty queens 
     G7                                                                 C 
and high school girls with clear skinned smiles who married young and then retired 
          C                                       Dm   
The valentines I never knew, the friday nights, charades of youth  
       G7                                                             C 
were spent on one more beautiful At  seventeen I learned the truth 
 
 
      Eb                               Dm            G7 
And those of us with ravaged faces, lacking in the social graces 
    Cm7       Fm7                      Cm7                      Fm7 
Desp'ratly remained at home inventing lovers on the phone 
      Ab                   G7                 Cm7                              Fm7 
Who called and say "come dance with me" and murmured vague obscenities 
Dm7                          G7 
It isn't all it seems at seventeen 
  
   C                                                        Dm 
A brown eyed girl in hand-me-downs, whose name I never could pronounce said 
 G7                                                              C 
Pity, please, the ones who serve, they only get what they deserve. 
     C                                                        Dm 
The rich relationed home-town queen marries into what she needs 
      G7                                          C 
A guarantee of company and haven for the elderly" 
  
  Eb                             Dm7                 G7 
Remember those who win the game, lose the love they sought to gain 
      Cm7          Fm7         Cm7        Fm7 
In debentures of quality and dubious in tegrity 
        Ab                  G7            Cm7                 Cm7 
Their small town eyes will gape at you in dull surprise when payment due 
  Dm7                           G7 
exceeds accounts received at seventeen 
  
    C                                 Dm 
To those of us who know the pain of valentines that never came, 
      G7                                       C 
and those whose name were never called when choosing side at basketball  
    C                              Dm 
It was long ago and far away The world was younger than today 
      G7                                   C 
and dreams were all they gave for free to ugly duckling girls like me 
 
        Eb                                Dm7                 G7 
We all play the game and when we dare to cheat ourselves at solitaire 
   Cm7           Fm7              Cm7           Fm7 
Inventing lovers on the phone, repenting other lives unknown 
      Ab                 G7                  Cm7            Fm7 
that call and say "Come dance with me", and murmur vague obscenities 
Dm7                          G7     C     Cmaj7 
at ugly girls like me, at seventeen