El alma gemela a los 17 años

Estaba Homer Simpson buscando a su alma gemela, en una de las escenas mas geniales de esa serie, en la que intenta encontrar lo que ya tiene, a su Marge, que se ha enfadado muchísimo con él por culpa de un malentendido, en la fiesta del chili: seguro que habréis visto ya el capítulo este, donde aparece el zorro cósmico y todo ese delirio psicotrópico...

En esa búsqueda por la ciudad, aparece el sonido de una guitarra y una curiosa voz, ¿quién será? ¿dónde me hago con esa canción? Por que no será que hay song-writers (o cantautores) en los Estados Unidos, así que me pareció como buscar una aguja en un pajar.

Pero parece que no soy el único al que le ha gustado esa canción y se ha preocupado en colgarla por la Red, y hasta poner las letras y traducirlas. Ahora, ya conozco a Janis Ian, y también sé que con esa canción “At seventeen” consiguió un Grammy en el año 1975, que es escritora, columnista y mil cosas mas. Pero yo, os dejo con la canción y la letra.

At seventeen – Janis Ian

I learned the truth at seventeen

That love was meant for beauty queens

And high school girls with clear skinned 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 murmur 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

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

Their small town eyes will 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 play the game and when we dare

To cheat ourselves at solitaire

Inventing lovers on the phone

Repenting other lives unknown

That call and say, "come dance with me"

And murmur vague obscenities

At ugly girls like me, at seventeen

Por si os interesa la traducción de la letra, aquí el enlace.