Fancy

I  remember  it  all  very  well  lookin'back
It  was  the  summer  I  turned  eighteen
We  lived  in  a  one  room,rundown  shack
On  the  outskirts  of  New  Orleans
We  didn't  have  money  for  food  or  rent
To  say  the  least  we  were  hard  pressed
Then  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  then  I  stepped  into
a  satin'
dancin'dress  that  had  a  split  on  the  side  clean  up
to  my  hip
It  was  red  velvet  trim  and  it  fit  me  good
Standin'back  from  the  lookin'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
Here's  your  one  chance  Fancy  don't  let  me  down
Mama  dabbled  a  little  bit  of  perfume  on  my  neck
And  she  kissed  my  cheek
Then  I  saw  the  tears  wellin'up  in  her  troubled  eys
When  she  started  to  speak
She  looked  at  a  pitiful  shackAnd  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  accross
The  toe  of  my  high  heeled  shoe
It  sounded  like  somebody  else  that  was  talkin'
Askin'Mama  what  do  I  do
She  said  be  nice  to  the  gentlemen  Fancy
And  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  downLord  forgive  me  for  what  I  do,
but  if  you  want  out
Well  it's  up  to  you
Now  don't  let  me  down  you  better  start
movin'uptown
Well,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
And  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  vowThat  I's  gonna  be  a  lady  someday
Though  I  didn't  know  when  or  how
I  couldn't  see  spending  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
Here's  your  one  chance  Fancy  don't  let  me  down
Here's  your  one  chance  Fancy  don't  let  me  down
It  wasn't  long  after  that  benevolent  man
Took  me  off  the  street
And  one  week  later  I  was  pourin'his  tea
In  a  five  room  hotel  suite
I  charmed  a  king,congressman
And  an  occasional  aristocrat
Then  I  got  me  a  Georgia  mansion
In  an  elegant  New  York  townhouse  flat
And  I  ain't  done  bad
Now  in  this  world  there's  a  lot  of  self-righteous
hippocrates
That  would  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  nigh  on  fifteen  years
I  can  still  hear  the  desperation  in  my  poor
Mama's  voice  ringin'in  my  ear
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  don't  let  me  down
You  Mama's  gonna  help  you  uptown