Let's Talk...Edge of Seventeen

[dissention]

So, what do you think it's about; what's your interpretation of it? Every fan you talk to has a completely different take on it (at least in my experience!), so give us yours. Here's mine:

We all know that the inspiration behind it is the passing of Both Stevie's uncle, John, and John Lennon.

He was no more...than a baby then
Well he... seemed broken hearted...
something within him
But the moment...that I first laid...
Eyes...on...him...all alone...
On the edge of...seventeen

This is the part that gets to me the most. I think what she's trying to say in this verse is that when she would visit her uncle, she would see him laying in bed dying and he was as helpless as a baby when it came to his illness. He "seemed broken hearted" about the way in which he was passing (the pain and the shame of having to die in such a condition), but "something within him" was at peace with it. However, when Stevie looks down on him, she sees him all alone in his suffering and she sees him as innocent, just as someone on the cusp of seventeen would be; fragile, vulnerable, and naive.

I went today...maybe I will go again...
tomorrow
And the music there it was hauntingly...
familiar
And I see you doing...
what I try to do for me
With the words from a poet...
and the voice from a choir
And a melody...nothing else mattered

She visits him, but the pain of doing so makes her question whether or not she wants to put herself in that same situation once more. When she's there, the chill in the air reminds her of great heartache. She sees her uncle trying to be at peace with his pain, which is something she is trying to do but can't.

The clouds...never expect it...
when it rains
But the sea changes colours...
but the sea...
Does not change
And so...with the slow...graceful flow..
of age
I went forth...with an age old...
desire...to please
On the edge of...seventeen

A person never expects it when such tragedy comes into their life. The tragedy alters things for the time being, but doesn't alter the course of destiny. Now that Stevie is older and wiser, she recognizes the innocence that came with being young and wants to be just as innocent again in order to please her loved ones, like her uncle is innocent.

Well then suddenly...
there was no one...left standing
In the hall...yeah, yeah...
In a flood of tears
That no one really ever heard fall at all
Oh I went searchin' for an answer...
Up the stairs...and down the hall
Not to find an answer...
just to hear the call
Of a nightbird...singing...
come away...come away...

Stevie has said that she was all alone with her uncle when he passed and that she ran throughout the house looking ofr anyone else. She questions herself as she does this, asking why it happened. She realizes that his spirit (the nightbird) is going to a better place and she hears it call out to her in her distress.

Well I hear you in the morning...
and I hear you...
At nightfall...
sometime to be near you...
Is to be unable...to hear you...
my love...
I'm a few years older than you...
are (I'm a few years older than you) my love

She feels the presence of the spirit(s) all the time. Her spirit goes on, while the others have drifted away to another place. Beautiful verse!!

Anyways, that's my interpretation of it!