Janis Ian - At Seventeen Acoustic Ukulele

[Intro]
Cadd9 C Cmaj7 C X2
 
 
 
[Verse]
Cadd9      C           Cmaj7   C
I learned the truth at seventeen
     D7sus4   Dm7      A/D     Dm7
That love was meant for beauty queens
G9/B
And high school girls with clear-skinned smiles
 Cadd9      C        Cmaj7     C
Who married young and then retired
 
Cadd9 C Cmaj7 C
 
    Cadd9    C   Cmaj7 c
The valentines I never knew
    D7sus4 Dm7   A/D        Dm7
The Friday night charades of youth
G9/B
Were spent on one more beautiful
Cadd9     C    Cmaj7       C
At seventeen I learned the truth
 
Cadd9 C Cmaj7 C
 
    Eb6
And those of us with ravaged faces
Dm7            G7
Lacking in the social graces
Cm7         Fm7
Desperately remained at home
Cm7              Fm7
Inventing lovers on the phone
 
Abmaj7              G7
Who called to say, "Come dance with me"
Cm7                 Fm7
And murmured vague obscenities
Dm7
It isn't all it seems
G9/B
At seventeen
 
Cadd9        C       Cmaj7   C
A brown-eyed girl in hand-me-downs
      D7sus4  Dm7  A/D   Dm7
Whose name I never could pronounce
G9/B
Said, "Pity, please, the ones who serve
Cadd9      C   Cmaj7     C
They only get what they deserve"
 
Cadd9 C Cmaj7 C
 
        Cadd9 C         Cmaj7    C
And the rich relationed hometown queen
D7sus4  Dm7  A/D      Dm7
Marries into what she needs
G9/B
With a guarantee of company
    Cadd9 C  Cmaj7 C
And haven for the elderly
 
 
Eb6
Remember those who win the game
 Dm7             G7
Lose the love they sought to gain
   Cm7           Fm7
In debentures of quality
     Cm7    Fm7
And dubious integrity
 
 Abmaj7                 G7
Their small town eyes will gape at you
  Cm7                 Fm7
In dull surprise when payment due
  Dm7
Exceeds accounts received
   G9/B
At seventeen
 
[Instrument solo]
  Cadd9  C       Cmaj7  C        D7sus4  Dm7     A/D   Dm7
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  G9/B                          Cadd9  C       Cmaj7  C
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  Eb6                           Dm7             G7
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  Cm7            Fm7             Cm7           Fm7
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 Abmaj7           G7            Cm7            Fm7
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  Dm7                           G9/B
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  Cadd9  C       Cmaj7  C        Cadd9 C       Cmaj7  C
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Cadd9   C         Cmaj7     C
To those of us who knew the pain
   D7sus4  Dm7     A/D   Dm7
Of valentines that never came
G9/B
And those whose names were never called
Cadd9 C       Cmaj7     C
When choosing sides for basketball
 
Cadd9 C Cmaj7 C
 
       Cadd9  C     Cmaj7  C
It was long ago and far away
    D7sus4       Dm7   A/D  Dm7
The world was younger than today
G9/B
When dreams were all they gave for free
Cadd9 C        Cmaj7        C
To ugly duckling girls like me
 
C  Eb6
We all play the game and when we dare
Dm7                  G7
To cheat ourselves at solitaire
Cm7                 Fm7
Inventing lovers on the phone
        Cm7           Fm7
Repenting other lives unknown
 
     Abmaj7              G7
They call and say, "Come dance with me"
Cm7                Fm7
And murmur vague obscenities
Dm7
At ugly girls like me
   G9/B
At seventeen
 
  Cadd9  C        Cmaj7 c        *Cmaj7
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