Janis Ian - At Seventeen Ukulele Chords
Before you play, tune your ukulele and use the tools below to set up your view and flow.
Ukulele C chord diagram
Ukulele Dm chord diagram
Ukulele G7 chord diagram
Ukulele D# | E♭ chord diagram
Ukulele Cm7 chord diagram
Ukulele Fm7 chord diagram
Ukulele G# | A♭ chord diagram
Ukulele Dm7 chord diagram
Ukulele F7 chord diagram
Ukulele Cmaj7 chord diagram
[Opening]
I [C]learned the truth at seventeen
That [Dm]love was meant for beauty queens
and [G7]high school girls with clear skinned smiles
who [C]married young and then retired
The [C]valentines I never knew,
the [Dm]friday nights, charades of youth
were [G7]spent on one more beautiful
At [C]seventeen I learned the truth
[section 2]
And [D#]those of us with ravaged faces,
[Dm]lacking in the [G7]social graces
[Cm7]Desp’ratly re[Fm7]mained at home
[Cm7]inventing lovers [Fm7]on the phone
Who [G#]called and say “come [G7]dance with me”
and [Cm7]murmured vague ob[Fm7]scenities
[Dm7]It isn’t all it seems at [G7]seventeen
[section 3]
A [C]brown eyed girl in hand me downs,
whose [Dm]name I never could pronounce said
“[G7]Pity, please, the ones who serve,
they [C]only get what they deserve.
The [C]rich relationed home town queen [Dm]marries into what she needs
A [G7]guarantee of company and [C]haven for the elderly”
[section 4]
Re[D#]member those who win the game, [Dm7]lose the love they [G7]sought to gain
In [Cm7]debentures of [Fm7]quality and [Cm7]dubious in[Fm7]tegrity
Their [G#]small town eyes will [G7]gape at you in [Cm7]dull surprise when [F7]payment due
[Dm7]exceeds accounts received at [G7]seventeen
[section 5]
To [C]those of us who know the pain of [Dm]valentines that never came,
and [G7]those whose name were never called when [C]choosing side at basketball
It [C]was long ago and far away The [Dm]world was younger than today
and [G7]dreams were all they gave for free to [C]ugly duckling girls like me
[Closing]
We all [D#]play the game and when we dare to [Dm7]cheat ourselves at [G7]solitaire
In[Cm7]venting lovers [Fm7]on the phone, re[Cm7]penting other [Fm7]lives unknown
that [G#]call and say “Come [G7]dance with me”, and [Cm7]murmur vague ob[Fm7]scenities
[Dm7]at ugly girls like me, at [G7]seventeen [C] [Cmaj7]
How to play At Seventeen on Ukulele (Step-by-step)
Janis Ian - At Seventeen on ukulele requires 10 chords and 15 core chord transitions. You can find the full step-by-step guide below. Before you start, tune your instrument. The song uses the ↓-↓↑-↓↑-↓↑ pattern; practice it muted first, or simplify to downstrokes while you learn the changes.
At Seventeen uses these transitions most often: G7 → C (9), Cm7 → Fm7 (8), and Dm → G7 (7). These transitions may feel a little challenging at first, but with steady practice you can play this song quickly.When you are ready, begin with C - Dm chord transition.
1. C → Dm chord transition
To move from C to Dm;
- Lift your ring finger from A string fret 3 and place it on C string fret 2.
- Place index finger on E string fret 1.
- Place middle finger on G string fret 2.
2. Dm → G7 chord transition
To move from Dm to G7;
- Keep index finger on E string fret 1.
- Lift your middle finger from G string fret 2 and place it on C string fret 2.
- Slide your ring finger from C string fret 2 to A string fret 2.
3. G7 → C chord transition
To move from G7 to C;
- While playing G7, first lift your index finger and middle finger.
- Slide your ring finger on A string from fret 2 to fret 3.
4. C → D# chord transition
To move from C to D#;
- Lift your ring finger from A string fret 3 and place it on C string fret 3.
- Place index finger on A string fret 1.
- Place pinky on E string fret 3.
5. D# → Dm chord transition
To move from D# to Dm;
- While playing D#, lift your pinky from E string fret 3.
- Lift your index finger from A string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 1.
- Slide your ring finger on C string from fret 3 to fret 2.
- Place middle finger on G string fret 2.
6. G7 → Cm7 chord transition
To move from G7 to Cm7;
- While playing G7, first lift your middle finger and ring finger.
- Lift your index finger from E string fret 1 and place it on G string fret 3.
7. Cm7 → Fm7 chord transition
To move from Cm7 to Fm7;
- Slide your index finger on G string from fret 3 to fret 1.
- Place middle finger on E string fret 1.
- Place ring finger on C string fret 3.
- Place pinky on A string fret 3.
8. Fm7 → G# chord transition
To move from Fm7 to G#;
- Keep index finger on G string fret 1.
- Lift your middle finger from E string fret 1 and place it on C string fret 3.
- Slide your ring finger from C string fret 3 to A string fret 3.
- Lift your pinky from A string fret 3 and place it on E string fret 4.
9. G# → G7 chord transition
To move from G# to G7;
- While playing G#, lift your pinky from E string fret 4.
- Lift your index finger from G string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 1.
- Slide your middle finger on C string from fret 3 to fret 2.
- Slide your ring finger on A string from fret 3 to fret 2.
10. Fm7 → Dm7 chord transition
To move from Fm7 to Dm7;
- While playing Fm7, lift your pinky from A string fret 3.
- Lift your index finger from G string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 1.
- Slide your middle finger from E string fret 1 to G string fret 2.
- Lift your ring finger from C string fret 3 and place it on A string fret 3.
11. Dm7 → G7 chord transition
To move from Dm7 to G7;
- Keep index finger on E string fret 1.
- Lift your middle finger from G string fret 2 and place it on C string fret 2.
- Slide your ring finger on A string from fret 3 to fret 2.
12. D# → Dm7 chord transition
To move from D# to Dm7;
- While playing D#, lift your pinky from E string fret 3.
- Lift your index finger from A string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 1.
- Slide your ring finger from C string fret 3 to A string fret 3.
- Place middle finger on G string fret 2.
13. Cm7 → F7 chord transition
To move from Cm7 to F7;
- Lift your index finger from G string fret 3 and place it on E string fret 1.
- Place middle finger on G string fret 2.
- Place ring finger on C string fret 3.
- Place pinky on A string fret 3.
14. F7 → Dm7 chord transition
To move from F7 to Dm7;
- While playing F7, lift your pinky from A string fret 3.
- Keep index finger on E string fret 1.
- Keep middle finger on G string fret 2.
- Lift your ring finger from C string fret 3 and place it on A string fret 3.
15. C → Cmaj7 chord transition
To move from C to Cmaj7;
- While playing C, lift your ring finger from A string fret 3.
- Place middle finger on A string fret 2.
At Seventeen chord transition analysis
A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in At Seventeen.
- At Seventeen includes 61 chord transitions, 15 of them unique.
- These transitions represent 0.02% of all chord transitions in Ukulelearn.
- At Seventeen contains 2 of the top 25 transitions across Ukulelearn.
- These transition patterns show how At Seventeen connects to the rest of Ukulelearn. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.After G7, the most likely next chords across Ukulelearn are C (69%), C7 (5%), and F (5%).
- G7 → C: 69%
- G7 → Cm7: 0%
After C, the most likely next chords across Ukulelearn are G (35%), F (16%), and D (11%).- C → Dm: 5%
- C → Cmaj7: 0%