edge of 17 - Page 2

Richard B · #16 05-24-2007, 08:39 PM

These interpretations are nice and all.

But what does Edge of 17 mean to you?

catinthedark · #17 05-24-2007, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by priestofnothing

the shippers think this is about her and lindsey as teenagers from the song title... but i disagree. i think it's much more abstract than the literal meaning all the shippers want to put on it.

this song has nothing to do with lindsey or being 17.

i have never, ever heard a single person (here or anywhere else, shipper or not) say this song is about stevie and lindsey.

what the hell?

it's one of the few songs stevie has described in detail, over and over. death. her uncle. john lennon.

Michelle Daya · #18 05-25-2007, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catinthedark

i have never, ever heard a single person (here or anywhere else, shipper or not) say this song is about stevie and lindsey.

what the hell?

it's one of the few songs stevie has described in detail, over and over. death. her uncle. john lennon.

yes, i got that. sorry. didn't know. but what the hell is wrong with song interpretation whether it's on target or not?

danax6 · #19 05-25-2007, 04:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by priestofnothing

No, it may have parts of Lindsey in it....

so I went forth with a desire
to please you on the edge of seventeen....

but i think this was more of a desire to please you [her family] than please you to [lindsey when they were 17 years old]...

she met lindsey twice before fritz when she or he was 17.

how intense of a connection is that? compared to your family who has known you YOUR ENTIRE LIFE up until you are 32 when you recorded this song... I think the family/death connection was much more intense, considering uncle john was the first "family" death she ever experienced..... (as she states on the CV DVD) when you are first crossed with death of a family member it is INTENSE and I can see how this would inspire such a strong, forceful song as this)... not a silly teenage heartbreak experience.... grow up! I can't even remember the last names of some of the high school people who were so "close" to me - and no, I'm not *that* ancient* I'm only 40.....but the family death experience was much more intense and painful than any high school crush I ever had, and I think it was for Stevie too.

I absolutely agree that the death of a family member is much more intense, and really, I am not arguing that that's not what the song is about, because a large part is. That whole part of 'searching for an answer up the stairs and down the hall, not to find an answer, just to hear the call of a nightbird', that's all her talking about the deaths. The white winged dove parts also, but as I said that's more related to herself and her role in all of it, both concerning Jimmy Iovine and how she didn't know how to comfort him, give him peace and therefore went on to Phoenix where she wrote the song, and with her own family. (More elements of pleasing her family can be found on Rock a Little.)

Having said that, you might think that a chance meeting at the age of 17 or 18 or whatever isn't really intense or memorable, but Stevie mentioned quite a few times that she was captivated by him and even that she knew at that instant that he would have a huge impact on her life in some way or the other.

I don't necessarily think that 'going forth with an age old desire to please' was her talking about that moment right there, it could be said about any time in their on and off again relationship.

Regarding the other parts of the song that don't fit it with the whole family/death theory... I just think that one day she had a conversation with Jane Petty, by her own admission, about their relationship/marriage and realized that they had certain things in common. She told Jane that one day she would write a song about it, entitled Edge of Seventeen. She's also said that some of her songs are about other's people's stories, so I still stand by my theory and say that EO17 is about both deaths, her family, Jane/Tom > Stevie/Lindsey. It's not that farfetched, considering 98% of her songs are about either Lindsey or Greta Garbo (that's a joke people!).

And like I said, many of her songs are a culmination of different things. Whatever was going through her head at the time I guess.

ETA: Addendum to casefile:

In lots of ways you can compare the song to Sara. Not really in terms of what it's about, but more in terms of setup. The verses basically all stand on their own and don't really have anything to do with one another. She's admitted to Sara being about a lot of different things. The whole part about Sara (once again, inspired by a friend of hers) is in fact Stevie talking about herself, which is the thin red line throughout the entire song. The same thing goes for Edge, like I explained earlier. We know that there are a lot more verses to Sara than the ones we know of, so I always believed that with the extra verses that we're missing we'd get a much clearer picture of what she was trying to say. We are all aware of that, therefore nobody ever really dares to go too deep into interpreting Sara. And I suspect Edge had more verses to it also, because the song as it is right now is kind of a jumbled mess.

Quote:

Originally Posted by catinthedark

i have never, ever heard a single person (here or anywhere else, shipper or not) say this song is about stevie and lindsey. what the hell?

Really? I've had this discussion quite a few times and there are definitely other people that think there are elements of LB in it.

JazmenFlowers · #20 05-25-2007, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danax6

Greta Garbo (that's a joke people!).

bwahahaha

catinthedark · #21 05-25-2007, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michelle Daya

yes, i got that. sorry. didn't know. but what the hell is wrong with song interpretation whether it's on target or not?

check the quote - i wasn't responding to you. chill.

and all i was saying is that i have never heard that interpretation.

belladonnadream · #22 05-25-2007, 10:43 AM

Wow I never really thought of this as a song that could have anything to do with Lindsay! I always thought that it was the only song that had nothing to do with Lindsay! I always took Stevie's word in interviews about what the meaning of it was~ which of course is the Tom and Jane part when they met at the age of 17 and the John Lennon and Uncle John part where they both died around the same time. The wwdove symbolizing the soul leaving the body, and where she says nothing else mattered but them at that point. She has said this a lot in interviews. The nightbird is also a symbol of death~ the calling of`~ the part of I see you doing what I try to do for me , I thought that was in honor of or reference maybe to John Lennon. But now that you questioned about Lindsay, who knows, it could be possible that some of the song is about him and she's just never said, maybe out of embarrassment that so MANY of her songs Are about Lindsay. She always has like 5 things going on in a song that maybe a little part of it is about him and she just got the idea from Jane Petty but related it to her and Lindsay's life as well and has never let the cat out of the bag. She had a hard time admitting that Blue Denim was a bout him and I'm sure I Still miss Someon(Blue Eyes) is about him. Of course 80 % of Mac songs have something to do with him so who knows. Clever thinking!
Jenni

belladonnadream · #23 05-25-2007, 10:45 AM

Wow I never really thought of this as a song that could have anything to do with Lindsay! I always thought that it was the only song that had nothing to do with Lindsay! I always took Stevie's word in interviews about what the meaning of it was~ which of course is the Tom and Jane part when they met at the age of 17 and the John Lennon and Uncle John part where they both died around the same time. The wwdove symbolizing the soul leaving the body, and where she says nothing else mattered but them at that point. She has said this a lot in interviews. The nightbird is also a symbol of death~ the calling of`~ the part of I see you doing what I try to do for me , I thought that was in honor of or reference maybe to John Lennon. But now that you questioned about Lindsay, who knows, it could be possible that some of the song is about him and she's just never said, maybe out of embarrassment that so MANY of her songs Are about Lindsay. She always has like 5 things going on in a song that maybe a little part of it is about him and she just got the idea from Jane Petty but related it to her and Lindsay's life as well and has never let the cat out of the bag. She had a hard time admitting that Blue Denim was about him and I'm sure I Still miss Someone(Blue Eyes) is about him. Of course 80 % of Mac songs have something to do with him so who knows. Clever thinking!
Jenni