The song is known for its minimalistic lyrics, which consist only of: "They only want you when you're seventeen / When you're twenty-one, you're no fun / They take a Polaroid and let you go / Say they'll let you know, so come on".
A new version "Seventeen 05", made by the band, featured on "Destroy Everything You Touch" single.
The music video for "Seventeen" featured the band playing the song in a special black room, that includes some neon lights. The black room is separated by a wide window from another larger grey room. In the grey room is a weighing scale, a telephone, and a stand with an old television and another device that looks like a VCR. Mira Aroyo and Helen Marnie are in front of the black room near that window, and Daniel Hunt and Reuben Wu are in the back. Each member wears a black uniform and plays a synthesizer.
The video starts with a group of schoolgirls and a professor entering the grey room from a long lobby. The girls start dancing while the band performs the song and also looks at them through that wide window. From time to time the professor removes one of the girls. At the end of the song, there's only one girl left in the grey room. Then she starts staring at the band through the window.
"Seventeen" was used in the 2003 movie Party Monster. It was used on the mix albums Fabric 09 by Slam, A Bugged Out Mix by Felix da Housecat and on Most of the Remixes by Soulwax. In 2015, the song was used in the BBC Three documentary Secrets of China.
Seventeen
Ladytron Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When you're 21, you're no fun.
They take a Polaroid and let you go
Say they'll let you know, so come on.
The song "Seventeen" by Ladytron is a commentary on society's obsession with youth and beauty. The opening lines, "They only want you when you're seventeen, When you're 21, you're no fun," suggest that people are most desirable and attractive when they are young and inexperienced. This is a sad truth as many people grow old and lose their youthful features and this no longer makes them attractive or interesting to others.
The next line "They take a Polaroid and let you go" signifies the superficial nature of our society. People are easily disposed of once they become less attractive or less useful to others. The line "say they'll let you know, so come on" suggests that there is always hope that they will call you back, but the reality is that they will only call you when they need you again.
The song is a commentary on the shallow nature of our society and its tendency to dispose of people once they are no longer young and attractive. It highlights the need for us to value people for their inner qualities rather than their superficial appearance.
Line by Line Meaning
They only want you when you're seventeen,
You are in demand and popular by others when you are at this particular age.
When you're 21, you're no fun.
After reaching the age of 21, people stop finding you interesting and attractive.
They take a Polaroid and let you go
They capture a moment, but it doesn't last, and they leave you.
Say they'll let you know, so come on.
They promise to contact you, so you should follow along eagerly.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: DANIEL HUNT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Monikanoid
'Seventeen' is about modeling agencies.
"They only want you when you're 17, when you're 21 you're no fun."
This is exactly how modeling agencies work. When you're 17 you're young enough to not have fully developed female curves yet, perfect for that skinny catwalk look, and old enough to legally work without all the parental hassle. When you're 21 you're considered an adult, have more female curves, plus harder to work with because of an adult mindset, as in knowing this is not a career you want to pursue, busy with university and (jealous) boyfriends.
"They take a polaroid and let you go, say they'll let you know, so come on."
17 year olds go knocking on doors at modeling agencies, full of hope, thinking they're gonna be the next big thing. In reality you're just girl #186 that day. So they'll just take a quick Polaroid photo of you, write down your info on the back and they literally say "We'll let you know.." Just like any job interview, so yeah, come on..
All the young girls dancing in the observation room are resembling the hundreds of applications the agencies get on a daily basis, the staff walks around, keep making the application pile (all the Polaroids from the past few days) smaller and smaller till there is just one left, the best girl of that pile, who they might hire.
@mmiller6342
I think this song is not just a commentary on the fashion industry, but on society as a whole.
Men are allowed to age and have wrinkles and grey hair and still be considered attractive(Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney, etc), but most women in the public eye are discarded when they aren’t very young anymore. The only older women celebrities are the ones that have no signs of aging (Jennifer Lopez).
Women are taught that they should be hairless, short and petite, have high voices, and to be innocent and submissive (all are characteristics of children). Women are mostly valued in society for our ability to fit the impossible beauty standard and to please men. I We are not valued as much on our maturity and intelligence. Once you are no longer oblivious to the world around you and you have lost your childlike features and you age(which is normal) you are no longer seen as of worth. Once you hit 30 you have reached your expiration date even though that is a very young age.
The type of girl that men want is a young girl that is essentially a child. When you are 17, you have not yet realized what the world is like and are “more fun”. You are easier to take advantage of. When I was in my senior year of high school there were many men in their 20s waiting around for 17 year old girls. On porn websites there is a high demand for “barely legal videos”. When Danielle Brigolli turned 18 everyone was excited and there were comments saying they waiting for “so long”.
When women are in their early 20s they are told to get settled while they still can so they don’t become an “old maid” while men are encouraged to settle down much later.
There is so much more that I can add, but I will stop now lol.
@user-sy9il3tc5p
“You can’t make a good song with two lines”
Ladytron: hold my birthday candles
@timetraveler9518
Daft punk made a song with 1line it's called "around the world"
@xymez3743
@@timetraveler9518 the gods of edm
@maimunamay6198
Fatboy's Slim "Right Here, Right Now" only contains the words of the title.
@VV-nz4dv
alice deejay
@Kets4ekis_biggest_fan
Nya itchy ni san
@bobatea3911
this isnt just a critique abt the fashion industry. its ALSO abt society's beauty standards and how men feel abt women aging
@aliaboulekema-amraoui5317
Thank you
@bow_wow_wow
That's ludicrous. What 21 year old woman had any trouble whatsoever attracting male attention?
@cherrygloombae
@@bow_wow_wow is this a joke or...?