Wow, the first time I heard that song back in 1976 , I thought she had ripped open my soul for the whole world to see. It had a profound effect on me to think another person felt exactly the way I did and could put it to music. I too saw myself as that "brown eyed girl in hand-me-downs whose name no one ever could pronounce" This song has touched the hearts of so many girls through out the decades, as each new generation discovers it and realizes maybe for the very first time that they are not alone. I reasoned as a kid, that if she could have been that way at 17 and now be such a naturally beautiful, talented and successful young woman at 20 something, there was hope and it gave us courage. So beautiful! :)

"At Seventeen" [1975] #1 on Billboard top 100. Janis Ian won the Grammy Award in 1976 for best female performance for her song "At Seventeen." "To all the Ugly Duckling girls like me."-Janis Ian We all know how the story of the Ugly Duckling turned out... Beautiful.

I was a 15 year old boy when This song released. It hit even me in the heart.

Can you imagine the small comfort this song was to other girls who felt the same and thought they were alone. They also got to see that she is beautiful.

Man, I remember when this song came out. I cried my eyes out. I identified so much with it. I experienced what she did as a man. She nailed it.

Fabulous young artist who spoke to how many young girls felt (and feel). Also try her Society's Child.

I was the youngest male in a house full of woman and saw from both sides the cruelty of teenage youth and the effect on them. I remember clearly this song coming from my older Sister's bedroom record player. Stunningly beautiful young lady who didn't see herself that way. Since her passing this song brings me to tears. A powerful song.

Haven't heard this song in years. Definitely tugs on your heart or makes you think of yourself as a teen when you didn't belong anywhere 😭

She bared her soul in this song. Society's Child is the next must hear

Janis Ian is a terrific songwriter and her "Between The Lines" album is one of the best.

She sang with her heart and didn't mind being vulnerable with those lyrics. So brave. I must say, she wasn't ugly.

This song really impacted my thinking. I was popular. This song broke my heart. From then on, I took up for the "different girls". I invited them into our group of friends and dared anybody to say something mean. A girl named Erin Morgan was one of them. I never looked on the outside anymore and judged people from then on by their character. This song made me a better person.

You can't get lyrics like this anymore... Remember those who win the game Lose the love they sought to gain In debentures of quality And dubious integrity Their small-town eyes will gape at you In dull surprise when payment due Exceeds accounts received At seventeen

Oh I love this woman! She's about to release one more (she swears it'll be her last) album. My first Janis Ian experience was when I heard Society's Child - I think she was about 14 or 15 when that one came out. She's just brilliant and I was so thrilled when At Seventeen came out.

I very much related to this song when it came out. All my friend at the time had boyfriends and I was very depressed throughout my teen years. At that time, it seemed to be a very important issue.

Imagine she wrote that Grammy winning song at age seventeen. I don't know how she looked at seventeen, but when this song came out in 1976, this twelve year old was in love with that cutie. Also in 76' I got my first pay check as a musician. That song was a lasting inspiration to me. The seventies were magical musically. Every time you turned around the radio was playing another gem.

That song really resonated with me. I think a lot of us feel that way at 17. Now I’m 67, and looking back, I really wasn’t all that bad. Too bad I didn’t know that back then.

This one always touched me...sure, I'm a guy, but this transcends those barriers. Gorgeous arrangement, too...but those lyrics and her soulful lament are for the ages. I had the pleasure of catching her once, at a folk festival.

This is what your grandmom listened to. Janis Ian is still amazing today!!!!1

I was a teenager when this song came out, definitely could relate to this one.

You two must listen and react to Society’s Child. She was only 14 or 15 when she wrote and recorded it. It’s a powerful song as well.

This a powerful song. It makes you want to give her a hug. We can thank her for her bravery to present her years of hurt.

The honesty of this song is rarely duplicated. Janis Ian is so powerful.

Societys Child is a must listen by Janis

wow! this BEAUTIFUL song came out when i was in junior high school. i have cried each and every time i've heard it... including right now.

Janis Ian is an American singer-songwriter from the 60's-70's. At the age of 14 Ian wrote & recorded her first hit single "Society's Child" 66/67 about an interracial romance forbidden by a girl's mother & frowned upon by her peers & teachers. Another big hit was "At Seventeen" in 1975 which talks about adolescent cruelty & the illusion of popularity from the perspective of a narrator looking back on her earlier experience.

Would listen to this album over and over again. Entire album is great.

Also, she's freaking beautiful.

Yep! She told the truth!

Great. The thing I admire about you two is not only do y'all react but y'all live the song and I enjoy experiencing it along with you guys. Please don't change your format.

When this song came out, so many of us could relate. I'm sure it's still true today. 17 can be such a cruel age.

This is so timeless. Mind your daughters and children in general life is not a picnic for everyone.

Smith "Baby It's You"..A Must Hear Classic.

Think of the courage not just to write a song like that but openly acknowledge all the feelings were autobiographical. That’s putting yourself out there, and that’s why it’s so powerful. You have to respect that kind of self honesty.

I've heard this song a million times. I never knew what she looked like until watching this. I think she is quite beautiful! 😍

I was in High School when this came out as well. High School can really suck emotionally. Hang in there no matter what your struggle , believe in yourself and you can make it better.

I saw her live at Saratoga. I was blown away.

She didn’t realize she was beautiful! ♥️

Thank you for reacting to this incredible song. She won a Grammy for this song in 1976. She beat out the top pop female vocalists in that year.

Love this lady janis ian, great singer,song writer

Teenage years can be very tuff sometimes I know I went through stuff but got past it and carried on

Mel, Love your hair. Looks so pretty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks guys for this reaction. Although I am in tears hearing it even now at 66, it was and still is such a relevant song. It was an anthem for so many of us. So authentic and beautiful 👍🏾❤👵🏿🔥🎵

Makes me tear up 😢- We ALL felt this way at one time. This woman is beautiful, inside and out!

She is so captivating. Every word captures your attention. Love J.I.

When you're in highschool, you want to be one of "beautiful" popular girls. I can relate to this song on all levels. On Valentines every year, we had cloth roses of different colors given out to the girls whose boyfriend's sent them in the morning before classes began. Remembering my senior year, all my friends received roses from their boyfriends. As usual just like the 3 years before, I didn't have a boyfriend. But to my pleasant surprise, I received one rose from each of them, because they didn't want me to feel left out. I still have those 4 roses today, 36 years later...🌹🌹🌹🌹

How sad. Her voice is beautiful 🥰

she was a true poet and sang in that conversational style reminiscent of Bobbie Gentry, and like Bobbie her lyrics cut right to the bone

One of the saddest songs ever --- but so beautiful too. I absolutely love the samba beat, which I think keeps the song from being mushy. A line I really like is the one about "those whose names were never called when choosing sides at basketball." This expands the teenage angst far beyond that of the girl who feels ugly. There are so many ways we could feel worthless .... at seventeen.

I related so hard to this song. I would just listen to it over,and over. She was singing my entire school experience. The problem was, she wasn't ugly... neither was I. It's amazing how people can tear you down, because you don't have the same upbringing. We all win in the end. Sadly we can't see into the future.

Such a beautiful song..I alway tier up. (Fly too high) was my fav song as a small girl at 7 sung by her its up beat and her singing as always magic!

This performance was on a show, called, (The Old Grey Whistle Test) at the BBC in England. I actually watched it and seen Janis perform this song on TV at my home in Ireland. I was 12 years old at the time in 1976.

I've been singing this song as sort of my inner anthem since I was 13. It was true then and some 45 years later, sadly, it still holds true...at times.

Shawn & Mel, this song is how I felt growing up. 💔💔💔

I am 63 and this song still is so powerful. We sometimes cannot see the painful reality of the people we pass daily. maybe just saying HI will bring some temporary joy to some.

This song makes me cry it's so moving ...glad you feel deeply too ...love u two

She has one more great song in which she tells everyone a slightly different cultural truth! Its called "Society's child" and its equally moving and ahead of its time.😊

Play this for all your teenagers!! Play it all the time. Kids need to hear this message 🔥👵🏼☮️❤️🌻

The Whistle Test. The cooler version of Top of the Pops.

This is sadness in It’s most poetical and beautiful form! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Powerful song....playlist for me for over 40 years

I've always loved this one...♥

Her "Society's Child" will be just as emotional, so give her 16 year old self a try in 1967 from the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour!

Janis Ian's experiences are my experiences and the experiences of hundreds of millions of teenagers since the 1950s. She put voice and feelings on those shared experiences.

I remember this - at seventeen - in high school & not really fitting in - except in MUSIC that always does wonders happy or sad ❤️‍🩹I was happy to finish school & go out into the world for adventure & happiness & kindness🥰 Glad you played this for us!

A great lesson that something beautiful can come out of pains and suffering of life that we all have .

I have a sixteen year old boy. He truly is very handsome. He doesn't see it. Struggling to fit in and wear the right clothes at the same time trying to keep his individuality. This time in our world is fairly rough on kids. No dances , social distancing. .... Mental health is no joke. ☮❤

She is awesome and still going strong, with a new album called The Light at the End of the Line.

Always loved this song. Hits home

Everytime i listen, tears stream 😭..my family always talked this song love it

That is by far the best reaction to a song I've seen on KZfaq. No stopping the video clip & talking.....just let it flow. ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

OMG...when I first heard this when it came out I thought it was written for me. Lots of crying when I heard this on the radio. 😢

After all these years, this stills tugs at my heart.

The first time I heard this song I was 16, stood 6'2" and was the butt of every joke imaginable in high school. I cried so hard and played it over and over again. That night my Aunt came home from work and heard the song and me crying. She came into my room removed the cassette it was recorded on and destroyed it. She sat me down and told me that I was beautiful inside and out and that the bullies were just jealous that they needed to look up to me and it made them inferior to me. That I just needed to concentrate on my education and eventually I would meet someone who would appreciate all that I am. I listened to her and we have now been together 36 years and married 34 with 4 children and 2 grandchildren.

I related to this song when it came out and thought she brought emotions to the song that made me feel her pain was greater than mine . That takes talent

I felt every word. I was this girl in school. It's sad there were others that went through this. Amazing song. She really touched me.

You two youngsters are just adorable !

I had this album when it came out. I listened to it all the time. This song was my anthem. She sang for me. She sang for a lot of girls.

I was a teen when this was released and it caught on immediately because of the truth of the song is universal. It did hit deep for those outsiders that it spoke of but I have to say I knew many of those cheerleaders that it referenced with the seemingly perfect lives who also felt a kinship to the story. You don't always know what's under the surface and many of those girls also felt that sense of isolation.

Ooooh. I remember this song. It's really quite beautiful. And very sad.😭😥😫

My wife and I went to one of her concerts in around 2012 in a provincial theatre in Maidstone, Kent. She is still amazing

I can tell by both of your faces listening to this horrendous tale of loss and self loathing that it has affected you like it affects me every single time I’ve ever heard this deeply upsetting song, to miss out like she did as a vulnerable 17yo girl is emotionally gut wrenching at the injustice of her situation . I have a single tear making it’s way down my face as I write at how wrong she was and how lovely she turned out . 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Haunting. I was so little back then, and this song broke my wee heart

Janis is still singing, still got that voice and still beautiful, love that voice, married a nice girl. Still love.

That album is one of the best you can hear, I recommend "In The Winter", you will love it. Janis is one of the most admirable people in music, everything she stands for and her amazing talent

Beautiful but sad song. Never judge someone for what they are hiding/go through.

Great song from a great album. You got me pulling out that album to play it.

I was a kid in the 70's when I heard this song,wow I never knew she had it that rough,this song made me cry!

JANICE IAN, "AT SEVENTEEN".. A TOUCHING TRUTHFULLY BRILLIANT SONG WRITTEN IN HER HEART. JUST SO, EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW. IT WAS TRUE FOR TEENAGE BOYS ALSO. CERTAIN PEOPLE COULD BE CRUEL TO THOSE WHO DIDN'T DESERVE IT. I WAS A SENIOR IN HIGHSCHOOL 1975. I SAW WHAT SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT.

I remember when this song was released. She was singing for me and it broke me.

Very nice reaction guyz to a classic! Tnx

Her voice is so incredible. That song always got to me. I was a fat girl throughout school. I wasn't popular. I was either bullied or ignored. It was rough back then. I'm 67 now, and I still remember the ugly things said and done to me.

I remember this song when it came out but understood it properly when i watched this performance on the old grey whistle test when i was older but still in my teens. Yes boys felt this way too not just girls but as you get older you realise beauty comes from within and having a good kind heart not superficial looks.

I’ve always loved this song. She wrote about my life at 17.

This meant so much to many when this first came out (I was 16) and she went where we all felt we were. She was a very talented songwriter and wrote about difficult subjects back at that time - you should take a listen to 'Society's child' which she wrote at 15 I think.

This song spoke to me loudly then....beauty seemed to be the dominant yardstick for girls and it started early. Supermodels, cheerleaders, movie stars....and that's a very vulnerable time of life anyway without being held to those standards.

I lived this life, I wasn't allowed to date, I was home every night with my books, radio and record player while my friends were dating, I was home in my room, I wasn't allowed to do the normal things teenagers did. I'm 63 and very socially awkward even after all these years. I waited until I graduated from high school and ran away from home, I was 17. I feel good when I hear this song, because I was able to understand how she feels.

I am so glad you felt this song! It might as well be the theme song for so many of us whether 14 or 80! It made those of us who could relate not feel so alone.

I realised half way through listening to this that tears were dripping down my face as I felt the way I did again when I was, 17.

The teenage years can be very cruel, no doubt. I was blessed in that even though my family was not well off, I was not looked down on by the rich kids, the popular kids. In fact, I was counted as an equal, and I still count many of those people as friends today, 46 years later.