True or false?
 

A friend of mine just sent me this story, she says it came from an interview with Stevie in the 80s but all she has is the written story. I don't know what it was written for or anything. It sounds like a magazine of some sorts. Anyway, supposedly, Stevie said in this interview that Edge of Seventeen was about the John Lennon thing, that we all have heard, but that it was also written at a time in her life when she had decided to go all the way with this boy who was a year younger than her and she lost her virginity to him.

All I'm saying is....thats personal and private, especially if this isn't even true. But if it is true, and you guys know about it, then all of a sudden Edge of Seventeen is going to weird me out, haha.

Any thoughts on this?

I think that's BS. You could tell that just by listening to EO17. There is nothing sexual in that song.

"Just like the white-winged dove, sings the song sounds like she's singing ooh, baby, ooh..."

There's nothing sexual about "ooh, baby ooh, said ooh..."?

Well not to me. I always sensed some anger in that song, but nothing sexual.

Stevie's sexy interpretation of the white winged dove's call. :lol:

Agreed Liam. That's the sound that doves make when they are calling to their mate.

It's so funny...I was just listening to this last night and thinking about the lyrics. Stevie's lyrics about sex are subtle. I would love to see that interview. But, think about it - just a coincidence that she met Lindsey when he was 16 and she writes: "he was no more than a baby then...the moment that I first laid eyes on him, somewhere on the edge of seventeen..."

The Nightbird isn't "death" either... :rolleyes:

i don't think that is right I have only heard stevie say that Edge Of Seventeen is about the Death of John Lennon and The Death of her Uncle John who died around the same time.

Well, during a certain part of the year Lindsey is a year younger than Stevie. He isn't right now - but will be turning 60 some time this year, right? (can't remember when)

There is also that guy she dated in highschool who she left for Lindsey.

But she said she learned about the noise the white winged dove makes, and said she was going to use that in her song, for sure. So in that context of where she came up with the idea, doesn't seem as sexual. But I think there is a lot more to EOS that we know. It is very confusing.

Also some of the inspiration comes from Tom Petty's wife at that time that said to Stevie that she met Tom at the age of seventeen. But she had a strong sothern accent and Stevie heard Edge of Seventeen and grabbed the menue from the table and wrote it down.

I think many of Stevie's songs are about many different things so the whole losing virginity thing may be in there somewhere.

His name was Dave Young. He was my 4th grade teacher and helped me meet Stevie :)

I don't doubt it for a second, either. I also think that a lot of Stevie's music has evolved throughout her life in terms of what they mean to her, herself. I think she wrote most of her lyrics with either a specified topic or none at all, just writing because the words and ideas seemed to flow together beautifully. She does put a LOT of weight on the aesthetic merit of her work.

Having that said, I am sure that after playing the same songs over and over for 30 years, she has often found new significance for the words she wrote. Time changes people.

Funny, it's one song of hers I don't find confusing at all.

I've been "screaming from the top of the rafters" for ages now that "Edge of Seventeen" is partly about losing your virginity. :nod: But no one's
believed me. :p Personally, I feel that most fans "got it" back when it first
came out; but somehow these days they don't see it.
Anyway, in my personal opinion, Stevie made it abundantly clear in her
performance in the HBO Concert. :shocked: . . . ;)