"At Seventeen" is a pop and soft rock ballad about being a social outcast in high school, particularly with respect to adolescent cruelty and rejection. The lyrics focus on the conflict between cliques as represented by the contrast of "ravaged faces" and "clear-skinned smiles". The song opens with the line "I learned the truth at seventeen, that love was meant for beauty queens". The narrator reveals in the third verse that she finds herself unattractive ("Those of us with ravaged faces"), but later provides a more hopeful outlook through an "Ugly Duckling" allusion ("Ugly duckling girls like me."). Ian said "The Ugly Duckling" lyric was partially inspired by Billie Holiday, who described her music as always containing a sense of hope. Ian had written the last verse ("To those of us who knew the pain / of valentines that never came") to connect with the listener. Other lyrics include: "…remained at home / Inventing lovers on the phone." and "The valentines I never knew / the Friday night charades of youth."