Celine Dion: At Seventeen

I learned the truth at seventeen
That love was meant for beauty queens
And high school girls with clear-skinned smiles
Who married young and then retired
The Valentines I never knew
The Friday night charades of youth
Were spent on one more beautiful
At seventeen I learned the truth…
And those of us with ravaged faces
Lacking in the social graces
Desperately remained at home
Inventing lovers on the phone
Who called to say “Come dance with me”
And murmured vague obscenities
It isn’t all it seems at seventeen…
A brown-eyed girl in hand-me-downs
Whose name I never could pronounce
Said “Pity, please, the ones who serve
They only get what they deserve”
The rich-relationed hometown queen
Marries into what she needs
With a guarantee of company
And haven for the elderly…
So remember those who win the game
Lose the love they sought to gain
In debitures of quality and dubious integrity
Their small-town eyes will gape at you
In dull surprise when payment’s due
Exceeds accounts received at seventeen…
To those of us who knew the pain
Of Valentines that never came
And those whose names were never called
When choosing sides for basketball
It was long ago and far away
The world was younger than today
When dreams were all they gave for free
To ugly duckling girls like me…
We all play the game, and when we dare
We cheat ourselves at solitaire
Inventing lovers on the phone
Repenting other lives unknown
That call and say “Come dance with me”
And murmur vague obscenities
At ugly girls like me, at seventeen…

Alexander Rybak: 13 Horses

 13horses, swimming in the sea
Waiting for someone to find them
Their ship is gone, and now they are alone
With water everywhere around them

The men were saved, from the sinking ship
Right before it started, to burn
And while they're safe, their loyal friends need help
Patiently waiting for their turn

13horses, swimming in the sea
They don't even know, it's pointless
The pride remains, but this time it won't help
They used to be so tall, and suddenly they're small

There's a couple, way too far behind
Soon they will be out of sight
But then who cares, they're dying anyway
All of them are doomed this night

11horses, swimming in the sea
The sea they thought was just a river
They're used to this, it's probably just a race
That helps to ease their minds, but where's the finish line

The night grows dark, the body wants to rest
It hurts to breathe, and still they do their best
They want to live, no matter for how long
Their thoughts have disappeared, 'cause now they're pretty scared

 7horses, struggling in the sea
Waiting for someone to find them
They don't look back, 'cause what's the point of that
There's only death behind them

They cry for help, but help will never come
They don't know where to swim, or where they're swimming from
They try to swim some more, when panic starts to spread
They're swimming into shore, but only in their heads

The 3 last horses, dying in a sea
Shouting of their cries for no one
They're born to win, they're screaming in their hearts
The strength of thousand men, they're fighting 'till the end

The sun is up, birds are everywhere
They're flying high, surfing in the air
It's nice to live, when life is such a bless
One horse that swims, it seems to be the last

The thirteenth horse, has always been the best
His owner will be proud, but now he wants to rest
He's longing for his home, the girl will give him food
'Good boy', she'll say, together they will play

13horses, swimming in the sea
Soon they will be gone forever
And while they swim, one thing still remains
And that's the hope that never dies

It never dies
It never dies