Sing it with me if you want to
Well, I remember it all very well
Looking back, it was the summer I turned 18
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 spit every last penny we had
To buy me a dancing dress
Well, Mama watched me comb and curl my hair
And she painted my eyes and lips
And then I stepped into a satin dancing dress
I had a skirt from the side cleaned up to my hips
Well, it was red, leather-trimming, and it fit me good
And standing back from the looking-glass
There stood a woman where I had grown pretty still
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 had a little bit of personality
A few moments, then she kissed my cheek
And then I saw the tears welling up in her troubled eyes
When she started to speak
She looked at her beautiful shack
And then she looked at me and took a rag of bread
She said, your paws run off and I'm real sick
And the baby's gonna starve to death
She handed me a heart-shaped locket
That said, do thine own self be true
And I should have watched a roach
Crawl across the toe of my shoe
It sounded like somebody else's
I was talking, asking, 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 won't have one, it's up to you
Now don't let me down, now your mama's gonna lose her count
Well, that was the last time I saw my mama
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 started to turn
And for me there was no way out
Wasn't very long till I knew exactly
What my mama been talking about
I knew what I had to do
When I made myself this solemn vow
That I was gonna be a lady someday
Though I didn't know when or how
But I couldn't see sprinting the rest of my life
With my head held held in shame
You know I might have been born just plain white trash
Fancy was her modern name
And 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
Wasn't long after a benevolent man
Took me in off the streets
One week later I was pouring his tea
In a fiver in Motel Suite
I charmed a king, a congresswoman
And a kitchen on the wrist of craft
And then I got me a Georgia mansion
In an elegant New York townhouse flat
I ain't done bad
Now in this world there's a lot of self-righteous
Hypocrites that call me bad
They criticize my mother for turning me out
No matter how good we had
Oh, but though I ain't had to worry
About nothing for now on fifteen years
I can still hear the desperation
In my poor girl's voice ringing in my ear
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 won't
No, but it's up to you
Now don't let me down
Now your mama's gonna move you uptown
And yes she did
Ah-ha, ah-ha
Oh, fancy
Ah-ha, ah-ha, ah-ha
Ah-ha, ah-ha, ah-ha