at seventeen

I learned the truth at seventeen
十七歲時我懂了
That love was meant for beauty queens
愛是屬於選美皇后的
And high school girls with clear skinned smiles
還屬於高中那些面容姣好的女孩子
Who married young and then retired
她們最後早早結婚生子退休生活
The valentines I never knew
那些與我無緣的情人節
The Friday night charades of youth
那些週五晚的字謎遊戲
Were spent on one more beautiful
都是屬於美麗女人的
At seventeen I learned the truth
十七歲時我懂了

我們這些相貌平庸的人
And those of us with ravaged faces
對社交一無所知
Lacking in the social graces
只能絕望地守在家裡
Desperately remained at home
和虛擬情人打電話
Inventing lovers on the phone
他說，“來一起跳舞吧”
Who called to say, 'come dance with me'
然後輕聲在我耳邊調情
And murmur vague obscenities
這不是想像中十七歲的樣子
It isn't all it seems at seventeen
一個棕色眼睛的女孩穿著廉價的衣服

連名字我都叫不出
A brown eyed girl in hand-me-downs
她說，請同情那些卑微的人
Whose name I never could pronounce said
她們只得到了應得的
Pity, please, the ones who serve
那個富豪身邊的美麗女人
They only get what they deserve
嫁給了她的需求
The rich-relationed home-town queen
物質的富足和晚年的保障
Marries into what she needs
記住那些贏得遊戲的人
With a guarantee of company and haven for the elderly
卻輸了她們所渴望的愛

只獲得了物質財富
Remember those who win the game
和令人懷疑的忠貞
Lose the love they sought to gain
她們眼光短淺望著你
In debentures of quality
眼裡的驚異一閃而過
And dubious integrity
就在十七歲那年
Their small town eyes will gape at you in
給那些和我一樣
Dull surprise when payment due
與情人節無緣的女孩
Exceeds accounts received at seventeen
和那些甄選籃球運動員時

永遠不會被選中的人
To those of us who knew the pain
已經是很久遠的事了
Ofvalentines that never came
那時的世界還年輕
And those whose names were never called
做夢是免費的消遣
When choosing sides for basketball
給那些和我一樣的醜小鴨
It was long ago and far away
我們都在遊戲當中
The world was younger than today
我們敢在孤獨中自欺欺人
And dreams were all they gave for free
假裝電話那端有個情人
To ugly duckling girls like me
懺悔虛擬的人生

情人打來電話說，“來和我跳舞”
We all play the game and when we dare
並低聲說著甜言蜜語
To cheat ourselves at solitaire
對著和我一樣平庸的女孩，十七歲時
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