‘Seventeen’: Sharon Van Etten’s 2019 ode to the ever-changing New York City
Sharon Van Etten's track examines New York City's evolution through the eyes of someone who has witnessed it over years of residence. The song captures how youthful indifference to neighbourhood closures and commercial shifts gradually transforms into recognition of what those spaces represented—shared history, community roots, and local identity—as one gains life experience.
The music video, directed by Maureen Towey, serves as a visual documentation of places that shaped Van Etten's artistic development, balancing appreciation for the city's character with acknowledgement of its fragility. Rather than dwelling in nostalgia, the song confronts the universal truth that all environments and perspectives inevitably change, reinforcing that this transformation is fundamental to existence itself.
- Sharon Van Etten's 2019 song 'Seventeen' reflects on how New York City physically transforms whilst its residents' perspectives mature
- The accompanying video documents meaningful city locations, treating urban change as both beautiful loss and inevitable passage of time
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Sharon Van Etten is an American singer-songwriter known for introspective, atmospheric music that draws on years of experience living in New York City. "Seventeen" is a track from her 2019 album Remind Me Tomorrow, which marked a shift towards a more expansive, synth-driven sound compared with her earlier stripped-back folk work.
The song reflects on how a person's relationship with a city changes over time, particularly as familiar places close down or are replaced. It uses Van Etten's own long-term connection to New York as a lens for exploring memory, belonging and the passage of time, themes that resonate with anyone who has watched a home city transform around them.
The accompanying music video, made by director Maureen Towey, revisits locations tied to Van Etten's personal and musical history, adding a documentary-like layer to the song's reflections on change and impermanence.