[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
