古水

        十七八岁，正值焦虑彷徨，对未来满怀憧憬的年纪。有人或已凭借天生的美貌和显赫的家世，赢得众人追捧，收获“美丽爱情”，过上衣食无忧的安逸生活；而更多人却相貌平平且出身卑微，在平淡中宅在家里期待着虚幻而未知的邀约...... 那些赢得了一切，却失掉了真爱；游走在金钱与自尊间的灵魂，人们或投之以惊讶的眼神；而彼时的我们，却仍是无人理睬，乏人问津的无名之辈，永远等不到情人节的玫瑰，所有心中企盼，似乎只有在幻梦中才能得以实现，而这场独角戏的唯一主角，就是那时年方十七八的我们，一群默默无闻的丑小鸭......
        「十七岁」(At Seventeen)，是美国民谣女歌手珍妮斯·伊恩(Janis Ian 1951.4.7- )创作于1973年的一首弹唱歌曲，bossa nova风格的旋律诉说着歌者对自己青春期心理的回忆和省视，对于物质与精神的渴求，对于现实与理想的矛盾，有迷惘，有嫉妒，有痛苦，更有感叹，皆在淡染愁绪的轻唱中，给予听者种种微妙暗示。女性独有的细腻视角，更是和着柔美的声线，将那个时代背景下价值观的冲突尽现无遗，想来于当下的社会现状亦不无借鉴之意。也许，当你真正读懂歌词所蕴含的人生哲理之后，便不会再有对当年那个落寂丑小鸭的一声叹息了吧！

I learned the truth at seventeen
that love was meant for beauty queens
And high school girls with clear siknned smiles
who married young and then retired
The Valentines I never knew
the friday night charades of youth
were spent on one more beautiful
At seventeen I learned the truth

And those of us with ravaged faces
lacking in the social graces
Desperately remained at home
inventing lovers on the phone
Who called to say "come dance with me"
and murmured vague obscenities
It isn't all it seems at seventeen

A brown-eyed girl in hand me downs
whose name I never could pronounce
Said:"pity please the ones who serve
they only get what they deserve"
And the rich relationed home town queen
marries into what she needs
With a guarantee of company
and haven for the elderly

Remember those who win the game
lose the love they sought to gain
In debentures of quality and dubious integrity
The small town eyes would gape at you in dull surprise
When payment due exceeds accounts received at seventeen

To those of us who knew the pain
of Valentines that never came
And those whose names were never called
when choosing sides for basketball
It was long ago and far away
the world was younger than today
And dreams were all they gave for free
to ugly duckling girls like me

We all played the game and when we dared
to cheat ourselves at solitaire
Inventing lovers on the phone
Repenting other lives unknown
they call and say "come dance with me"
And murmur vague obscenities
at ugly girls like me at seventeen