Well, I
Remember it all
Very well
Lookin' back
It was the summer
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'
And Mama spent
Evry last penny
We had
To buy me a
Dancin' dress
Well, Mama
Washed and combed
And curled my hair
And then she
Painted my eyes
And lips
And then I stepped
Into a satin
Dancin' dress
It had a split
From my side,
Clean up to
My head
It was red velvet
Trimmin' and
It fit me good
Standin' back from
The looking glass
There stood
A woman
Where a half grown
Kid had stood
She said, ''Here's
Your one chance
Fancy,
Don't let me down''
She said, ''Here's
Your one chance
Fancy,
Don't let me down''
Mama dabbed a
Little bit of perfume
On my neck
And then she kissed
My cheek
And then I saw
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
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-heel shoe
It sounded like
Somebody else was
Talkin', askin' ...
''Mama,
What do I do?''
She said,
''Just be nice
To the gentleman,
Fancy
They'll be nice
To you''
She said, ''Here's
Your one chance
Fancy don't
Let me down
She said, ''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 don't
Let me down now
Your Mama's gonna
Move you uptown!''
Well that was
The last time
I saw my Ma'
When 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 a-started
To turn
And for me
There was
No way out
It wasn t very long
Til I knew exactly
What my Mama
Been talkin' about
I knew what
I had to do
And I made myself
This solemn vow
I's gonna be
A lady someday
Though I didn't
Know when or how
But I couldn't see
Spendin' the rest
Of my life
With my head hung
Down in shame
You know I might
Have been born
just plain
White trash
But Fancy was
My name
She said, ''Here's
Your one chance
Fancy don't
Let me down
She said, ''Here's
Your one chance
Fancy don't
Let me down
It wasn't long
After a benevolent
Man took me in
Off the streets
One week later
I was pourin' his
Tea in a five
Room hotel suite
I charmed a King,
A Congressman
And an occasional
Aristocrat
And then 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
Hippocrits
That call me bad
And criticize Mama
For turning me out
No matter how
Little we had
But though I ain't
Had to worry bout
Nothin' for night on
Fifteen years
I can still hear
The desperation
In my poor
Mama's voice
Singin' in my ears
She said, ''Here's
Your one chance
Fancy don't
Let me down
She said, ''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 don't let me
Down now your
Mama's gonna
Move you uptown
And I guess
She did...