Edge of Seventeen (2016 Remaster)

The lyrics move between memories of a lonely young person and the speaker’s later reflections on grief, time, and connection. At first, the person seems heartbroken and isolated, standing “on the edge” of a new age or stage of life. Later, tears and searching suggest a loss that remains difficult to understand. The repeated bird song gives the song a steady, mournful thread through these changing feelings.

The “strand in the wind” suggests that days pass lightly and unpredictably, while the speaker tries to begin again within her own complicated life. The sea changing colour but not changing itself can suggest that appearances and moods shift, even as something essential remains. A “nightbird” calling “come away” may represent a voice offering escape, comfort, or a way toward an answer—but the speaker searches without finding one.

Some details remain deliberately unclear: the lyrics do not fully explain who has died or what separates the speaker from the person she addresses. The repeated dove image may evoke sorrow, tenderness, or release rather than one fixed meaning. The song can be heard as a reflection on how music and memory help someone live with loss, even when closeness does not make another person fully understandable.