Seventeen
Ray Conniff; Arranged and conducted by Ray Conniff Lyrics

I learned the truth at seventeen
At the age of seventeen, I learned an important truth about life.

That love was meant for beauty queens
I found out that love was often only for people who were considered beautiful.

And high school girls with clear skinned smiles
Those who were considered beautiful often had something to smile about due to their good fortune.

Who married young and then retired
These beautiful people often married early and easily with no worries of supporting themselves.

The valentines I never knew
I never experienced receiving a Valentine's Day card or gift from anyone in school.

The Friday night charades of youth
The pretend games we played to pass the time on Friday night were frivolous.

Were spent on one more beautiful
These games were always in service to someone who was more attractive than the rest of us.

At seventeen I learned the truth
At the age of seventeen, I finally found out the harsh reality of what people value.

And those of us with ravaged faces
People like me, who did not fit society's idea of beauty, had faces that were weathered by life's hardships.

Lacking in the social graces
We did not have the personality attributes that people typically look for, such as social charm or tact.

Desperately remained at home
We were often too shy or self-conscious to put ourselves out there, so we spent most nights at home.

Inventing lovers on the phone
To deal with the loneliness, we would make up stories about imaginary loves who called and spoke with us on the phone.

Who called to say - come dance with me
In these stories, our imaginary lovers would invite us to dance with them.

And murmured vague obscenities
These romantic stories often included vague suggestions and hints of sexual activity.

It isn't all it seems at seventeen
Life often seems more beautiful and exciting than it really is when you are young.

A brown eyed girl in hand me downs
One particular person, a girl with brown eyes who wore secondhand clothing, comes to mind.

Whose name I never could pronounce
I never bothered to learn the name of this girl, as we never interacted socially.

Said - pity please the ones who serve
This girl had a sense of empathy for those who were not as fortunate as the rich and the beautiful.

They only get what they deserve
She believed that those who did not fit society's expectations should just accept whatever misfortunes come their way.

The rich relationed hometown queen
There was a woman who came from a wealthy family in our hometown who was a fixture in our community.

Marries into what she needs
This woman had no qualms about marrying someone because of their financial status, rather than because of love.

With a guarantee of company
By marrying someone wealthy, this woman would be assured of having someone to keep her company and support her financially.

And haven for the elderly
This woman would also have security in her old age, as she would be taken care of by her well-off partner.

So remember those who win the game
It's important to note that those who are successful in society do so by playing into its rules and expectations.

Lose the love they sought to gain
However, by doing so, these people often lose the chance to experience true love and affection.

In debentures of quality and dubious integrity
Those who achieve their goals often do so while compromising their principles and morals along the way.

Their small-town eyes will gape at you
People from small towns are often in awe of those who have achieved success and wealth in the larger world.

In dull surprise when payment due
However, the price of societal success can sometimes come as a shock and be more than one is prepared to pay.

Exceeds accounts received at seventeen
The costs and burdens of societal success often go beyond what one could have imagined at an earlier age.

To those of us who knew the pain
For those of us who suffered from a lack of love and acceptance due to our appearance or personality, the pain was very real.

Of valentines that never came
We never received the kind of attention and affection that other people received so easily.

And those whose names were never called
We were often overlooked and forgotten, even when it came to small things like being picked for a sports team.

When choosing sides for basketball
Our lack of popularity and social status even followed us into the gymnasium for physical education class.

It was long ago and far away
These painful experiences happened many years ago, and now seem like a distant memory.

The world was younger than today
The world seemed fresh and new back then, and there was always hope that things would get better.

When dreams were all they gave for free
Back then, we were free to dream and hope for a better future, without the constraints of reality.

To ugly duckling girls like me
As young women who did not fit society's idea of beauty, we were like ducks out of water, struggling to find our place in the world.

We all play the game, and when we dare
Everyone in society is playing the game of life, trying to succeed and find happiness.

We cheat ourselves at solitaire
However, sometimes we cheat ourselves by playing by ourselves, shutting out the world and the other people in it.

Inventing lovers on the phone
We still turn to imaginary lovers to help us cope with our loneliness and lack of acceptance in society.

Repenting other lives unknown
We often think about what life would be like if we were someone else, someone who was more accepted and loved.

That call and say - come on, dance with me
Our imaginary lovers invite us to dance and be happy, something we rarely experience in real life.

And murmur vague obscenities
These imaginary lovers are not shy about expressing their sexual desire for us, something that no one does in real life.

At ugly girls like me, at seventeen
As girls who did not fit into society's idea of beauty, we long for these imaginary lovers who accept us for who we are.