At Seventeen(Remaster) - Janis Ian

At Seventeen (Remaster) - Janis Ian

Written by：Janis Ian

I learned the truth at seventeen
十七岁的时候 我知道了
That love was meant for the beauty queens
只有那些选美佳人
And high school girls with clear skinned smiles
和校园里的甜美纯情女生
Who married young and then retired
才会拥有爱情 她们辍了学 早早出嫁
The valentines I never knew
我从没听过情人节
The Friday night charades of youth
也不知道什么周五狂欢夜 更不会那些年轻人爱玩的猜谜游戏
We're spent on one more beautiful
那该是多么美妙的时刻
At seventeen I learned the truth
十七岁的时候 我知道了
And those of us with ravaged faces
像我们这些容貌欠佳
Lacking in the social graces
又不善于社交的人
Desperately remained at home
只能孤独地待在家里
Inventing lovers on the phone
发展电话情人
Who called to say come dance with me
她们会说 来一起跳个舞吧
And murmured vague obscenities
有时彼此也会讲点儿暧昧言语
It isn't all it seems at seventeen
可对于十七岁的孩子来说 这些远远不够
A brown eyed girl in hand me downs
有一个褐色眼睛的女孩儿 穿着一身廉价衣服
Whose name I never could pronounce
她的名字我不曾念对
Said pity please the ones who serve
她说 真是可怜 永远只能当一片
They only get what they deserve
衬托红花的绿叶
And the rich relationed hometown queen
家乡的富人千金
Marries into what she needs
嫁给了她的如意郎君
With a guarantee of company
得到伴侣的承诺 会携手白头
And haven for the elderly
晚年也有了依靠
Remember those who win the game
想起有些人虽嫁入豪门
They lose the love they sought to gain
却输了辛苦到手的爱情
In debentures of quality and dubious integrity
最后得到的只是一沓空头支票和无休止的背叛
Their small town eyes will gape at you
那些鼠目寸光的人
In dull surprise when payment due
会大跌眼镜
Exceeds accounts received at seventeen
因为最终落了个得不偿失
To those of us who knew the pain
谨以此歌献给那些
Of valentines that never came
从没享受过情人节的单身人士
And those whose names were never called
和那些在体育课上
When choosing sides for basketball
被篮球抛弃的可怜人
It was long ago and far away
很久很久以前
The world was younger than today
世界比现在干净纯粹
When dreams were all they gave for free
那时候 人们可以自由平等地追求梦想
To ugly duckling girls like me
像我这样的丑小鸭也拥有如上权利
We all play the game and when we dare
我们大家都会玩这种单人游戏
To cheat ourselves at solitaire
可却慢慢地学会了自欺欺人
Inventing lovers on the phone
发展电话情人
Repenting other lives unknown
假装自己也很高贵
They call and say come dance with me
她们会说 来一起跳个舞吧
And murmur vague obscenities
有时彼此也会讲点儿暧昧言语
At ugly girls like me at seventeen
我这样的丑小鸭不喜欢十七岁