[Verse 1]
I remember it all very well looking 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 dancing dress
Well, Mama washed and combed and curled my hair
Then she painted my eyes and lips (Lips)
Then I stepped into a satin dancing dress
That had a split on the side clean up to my hip
But it was red velvet trim and it had fit me good
Well, standing back from the looking glass
There stood a woman where a half-grown kid had stood
[Chorus]
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"
[Verse 2]
Mama dabbed a little bit of perfume on my neck
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 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-heeled shoe
It sounded like somebody else that was talking
Asking Mama, "What do I do?"
She said, "Just be nice to the gentlemen, Fancy
They'll be nice to you"
I remember it all very well looking 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 dancing dress
Well, Mama washed and combed and curled my hair
Then she painted my eyes and lips (Lips)
Then I stepped into a satin dancing dress
That had a split on the side clean up to my hip
But it was red velvet trim and it had fit me good
Well, standing back from the looking glass
There stood a woman where a half-grown kid had stood
[Chorus]
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"
[Verse 2]
Mama dabbed a little bit of perfume on my neck
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 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-heeled shoe
It sounded like somebody else that was talking
Asking Mama, "What do I do?"
She said, "Just be nice to the gentlemen, Fancy
They'll be nice to you"
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