Fancy

Lyrics

[Verse 1] I remember it all very well looking back It was the summer I turned eighteen We lived in a one-room worn-out shack On the outskirts of New Orleans We didn't have money for food or rent To say the least, we was hard-pressed And Mama spent every last penny we had To buy me a dancin' dress Mama washed and combed and curled my hair And she painted my eyes and lips Stepped into a satin dancin' dress That had a slit in the side, clean up to my hips It was red velvet trim and it fit me good Starin' back from the lookin' glass There stood a woman where a half-grown boy had stood [Chorus] "Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down" [Verse 2] Mama dabbed a little bit of perfume on my neck And she kissed my cheek I could see the tears wellin' up in her troubled eyes As she started to speak She looked at our pitiful shack And then she looked at me and took a ragged breath She said, "Your Pa's run off and I'm real sick And the baby's gonna starve to death" She handed me a heart-shaped locket that said "To thine own self, be true" And I shivered as I watched a roach crawl Across the toe of my high-heeled shoe It sounded like somebody else that was talkin' Askin', "Mama, what do I do?" She said, "Just be nice to the gentlemen, Fancy They'll be nice to you" [Chorus] "Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down Lord, forgive me for what I do But if you want out, well, it's up to you And don't let me down now Your mama's gonna move you uptown" [Verse 3] That was the last time I saw my Ma The night I left that rickety shack The welfare people came and took the baby Mama died and I ain't been back But the wheels of fate had started to turn And for me, there was no way out It wasn't very long 'til I knew exactly What my Mama'd been talkin' about I knew what I had to do But I made myself this solemn vow Said I was going to be a lady someday Though it didn't matter when or how I couldn't see spending the rest of my life With my head held down in shame You know I might've been born just plain white trash But Fancy was my name [Chorus] "Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down" [Verse 4] It wasn't long after, a benevolent man Took me in off the street One week later, I was pouring his tea In a five-room hotel suite I charmed a king, a congressman And the occasional aristocrat I got me a Georgia mansion And an elegant New York townhouse flat And I ain't done bad [Verse 5] Now in this life, there's a lot of self-righteous Hypocrites that call me bad And criticize Mama for turnin' me out No matter how little we had And though I ain't had to worry 'bout nothin' For now on fifteen years I can still hear the desperation In my poor Mama's voice ringing in my ears [Chorus] "Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down Lord, forgive me for what I do But if you want out, well, it's up to you Don't let me down now Your Mama's gonna move you uptown" [Outro] Fancy