Fancy

歌詞

Well, I remember it all very well lookin' back It was the summer that I turned eighteen. We lived in a one-room, run down shack On the outskirts of New Orleans. We didn't have money for food or rent To say the least we were hard-pressed When Momma spent every last penny we had To buy me a dancin' dress. Well, Momma washed and combed and curled my hair, Then she painted my eyes and lips. Then I stepped into the satin dancin' dress. It was split in the side clean up to my hips. It was red, velvet-trimmed, and it fit me good And starin' back from the lookin' glass Was a woman Where a half grown kid had stood. She said, "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 girl it's up to you. Now get on out, you better start sleepin' uptown." Momma dabbed a little bit of perfume On my neck and she kissed my cheek Then I saw the tears welling up In her troubled eyes when she started to speak She looked at our pitiful shack and then She looked at me and took a ragged breath "Your Pa's runned 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-healed shoe It sounded like somebody else was talkin' Askin', "Momma what do I do?" She said, "Just be nice to the gentlemen, Fancy. They'll be nice to you." She said, "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 Now get on out, girl, you better start movin' uptown." Well, that was the last time I saw my momma When I left that rickety shack 'Cause the welfare people came and took the baby. Momma died and I ain't been back. But the wheels of fate had started to turn And for me there was no other way out. It wasn't very long 'till I knew exactly What my momma was talkin' 'bout. I knew what I had to do. But I made myself this solemn vow: That I was gonna to be a lady someday Though I didn't know when or how. I couldn't see spendin' the rest of my life With my head hung down in shame. I mighta been born just plain white trash But Fancy was my name. "Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down! Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down. Wasn't long after that a benevolent man Took me in off the streets One week later I was pourin' his tea In a five roomed penthouse suite. Since then I've charmed a king, a congressman And an occasional aristocrat And I got me a Georgia mansion And an elegant New York townhouse flat. Now I ain't done bad Now in this world there's a lot of self-righteous Hypocrites that would call me bad. They criticize Momma for turning me out No matter how little we had. And though I haven't had to worry 'bout nothin' Now for nigh on fifteen years I can still hear the desperation In my poor mommas voice ringin' in my ears. "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. Now get on out, you better move uptown. And I guess she did"