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What's the Meaning of Sharon Van Etten's Song "Seventeen"?

What is the meaning of the song "Seventeen" by Sharon Van Etten? We'll damage down the lyrics and inspiration at the back of the singer's hit 2019 track.

Chris Barilla - Author

The release of 2019's "Remind Me Tomorrow" was a triumph for Sharon Van Etten. The singer-songwriter, who has been working diligently in the song industry since her 2009 debut, landed on one thing actually special with that individual album, which gave option to one of her biggest tracks to this point — "Seventeen." The catchy music one of her top streamed songs throughout every platform and has been brought to the attention of a new crew of enthusiasts in 2023 due to a feature on the hit show Yellowjackets.

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With new fans flocking to Sharon's song after hearing "Seventeen" on Yellowjackets, that begs the question: what does the song in fact imply? What message used to be Sharon looking to get across on "Seventeen"? Furthermore, how does "Seventeen" paintings into the Yellowjackets storyline? Keep studying to determine!

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What is the meaning of "Seventeen" by means of Sharon Van Etten?

During a conversation with Billboard again in 2019 when "Remind Me Tomorrow" used to be released, Sharon gave lots of insight into what inspired the advent of "Seventeen." To the singer, "Seventeen" is an ode to the existence that she has lived in New York City in addition to a mirrored image on how much has modified inside the city she loves since her younger years.

"'Seventeen' just feels like my New York song," she told the e-newsletter at the time. "This is talking about living somewhere long enough to see the changes that I have. I’ve been here 15 years. To be like, chasing neighborhoods constantly, walking down the street and seeing a place that’s closed that I used to hang out in, in a neighborhood you can no longer afford, but then you see kids younger than you moving in, things like that, constantly — it’s just the New York story."

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Through strains comparable to "Downtown hotspot halfway up the street / I used to be free, I used to be seventeen," Sharon harkens back to her teenage years and the gilded tint that New York City had in her eyes. She then seems to be to the more youthful people who have moved into the town ("Now you're a hotshot hanging on my block"). She sees changes since she used to be seventeen, singing, "Sure of what I've lived and have known / I see you so uncomfortably alone / I wish I could show you how much you've grown."

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That message is hammered home once more in the remaining lines, the place Sharon sings, "I used to feel free, or was it just a dream? / Now you're a hotshot, think you're so carefree / But you're just seventeen, so much like me / You're just seventeen." All-in-all, Sharon's wealth of lifestyles experience and information of New York City led her to create this catchy track which parallels satisfied recollections from her previous with mindful realizations about her provide.

Thanks to 'Yellowjackets,' new lovers are finding "Seventeen."

"Seventeen" can have been formally released in 2019, however that does not imply that it has misplaced its endurance in 2023. Quite the opposite, in fact, as the song is seeing renewed pastime among fans of Yellowjackets, which featured Sharon's hit inside the show.

Indeed, the Season 2 opener, which sees everyone's favorite band of soccer players take on the Ontario desolate tract, used to be soundtracked by "Seventeen," a really perfect mood-setter for the eerie storyline. The song runs in the background right through the display's first few moments as cameras pan over every of the major characters sound asleep on makeshift beds, nonetheless with out hope or a plan to escape the brutal atmosphere where their airplane crashed.

Season 2 of Yellowjackets airs Sundays at 9 p.m. EST on Showtime.

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Brenda Moya

Update: 2024-05-15