Seventeen

### Songwriter(s)

Alessia Cara, Sebastian Kole, Andrew "Pop" Wansel, Warren "Oak" Felder, William Robinson, Jr., Ronald White, Samuel Gerongco, Robert Gerongco

## Music video

"**Seventeen**" is the first track and first promotional single from Alessia Cara's EP, *Four Pink Walls* along with her debut studio album, *Know-It-All*. It was released through Def Jam Recordings and Universal Music Group on August 26, 2015.

## Background

This song was made in New Jersey during a day of writer's block. Just as they were going to call it a day, Sebastian Kole asked Cara's father what he would write about if he were to write a song. He came up with the concept of life going by too fast, and thus the first line of Seventeen was born, My daddy says that life comes at you fast..."

## Lyrics

Ohh oh oh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh oh

Ohh oh oh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh oh

My daddy says that life comes at you fast

We all like blades of grass

We come to prime and in time we just wither away

And it all changes

My view with a looking glass won't catch the past

Only photographs remind us of the passing of days

Oh nothing stays the same from yesteryears

See I recall being afraid of the dark

And holding on to teddy bears

I'd wrap myself in blankets just to cover me from fears

That was then and now I'm here

And the night is mine

So hear me scream

I was too young to understand what it means

I couldn't wait til I could be seventeen

I thought he lied when he said take my time to dream

Now I wish I could freeze the time at seventeen

Ohh oh oh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh oh

I'm seventeen

Ohh oh oh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh oh

Seventeen

Ohh oh oh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh oh

Seventeen

Now I wish I could freeze the time at seventeen

My mother said don't forget where you come from, where you've been

Always keep your closest friends they can't slip away

They keep you grounded

Oh keep yourself surrounded with good advice

And yeah I guess that sounded nice when I was ten

Oh but never were there truer words

In all my days I've ever heard

And when she told me little girl the answer is love

So those are words that I keep with me

Though the seasons change so quickly

Keep them buried in my heart

And never fought

So hear me scream

I was too young to understand what it means

I couldn't wait til I could be seventeen

I thought she lied when she said "take my time to breathe"

Now I wish I could freeze the time at seventeen

Ohh oh oh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh oh

I'm seventeen

Ohh oh oh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh oh

Seventeen

Ohh oh oh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh oh

Seventeen

Now I wish I could freeze the time at seventeen

I been goin on, I been growin up

I'm a know it all, I don't know enough

See I was racing and waiting for the day that I would be old enough

Guess I'll be patient and pace myself gotta prepare for when goings rough

I was too young to understand what it means

I couldn't wait til I could be seventeen

I thought she lied when she said "take my time to breathe"

Now I wish I could freeze the time at seventeen

Ohh oh oh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh oh

I'm seventeen

Ohh oh oh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh oh

Seventeen

Ohh oh oh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh oh

Seventeen

Now I wish I could freeze the time at seventeen

## Critical Reception

*Hit the Floor* writer Fabio Magnocavallo stated: "‘Seventeen’ still remains one of Cara’s best songs with her singing about wanting to stay seventeen and wishing she could go back. For a singer-songwriter, Alessia has the audience relating instantly."

## Music Video

The music video was released on December 15, 2016. The video begins with Cara as a child with her dad. Then it shows Cara as a young teenager going to school and then with a friend at her current age. It then shows Cara in a couple of years, and then with a child of her own. Now her child is a teenager and she is middle-aged. After that, Cara is then alone as an elderly woman. At the end of the video, Cara is back at her current age.

## Trivia

* The “teddy bear” mentioned in the song was actually a cat named Snowball. Cara has had her since she was two. She has one eye.

* This song had set the foundation for the *Know-It-All* album, allowing Cara to figure out what she wanted the album to mean.

* Cara thought there was no way she she could reach the high note in the chorus, but Sebastian Kole made her try it and it worked.

* The title of the album, *Know-It-All*, was taken from a line in the bridge of this song: "I'm a know-it-all, I don't know enough..."
	+ Cara feels that that line represents every song on the album, whether it's in a direct or indirect way.

* This song was the most reproduced and rerecorded on the album. Cara wanted to get it as flawless as possible so she made herself sing it over many times. It was originally produced by Kuya and later reproduced by Pop & Oak.

## References

1. ↑ "Alessia Cara – Know-It-All | Album Review"
2. ↑ https://alessiastumblah.tumblr.com/post/132414676037/amp?\_\_twitter\_impression=true