[Verse 1]
I remember it all very well looking back
It was the summer I turned eighteen
We lived in a one-room worn-out shack
On the outskirts of New Orleans
We didn't have money for food or rent
To say the least, we was hard-pressed
And 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
Stepped into a satin dancin' dress
That had a slit in the side, clean up to my hips
It was red velvet trim and it fit me good
Starin' back from the lookin' glass
There stood a woman where a half-grown boy had stood
[Chorus]
"Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down
Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down"
[Verse 2]
Mama dabbed a little bit of perfume on my neck
And she kissed my cheek
I could see 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 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
Across the toe of my high-heeled shoe
It sounded like somebody else that was talkin'
Askin', "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 worn-out shack
On the outskirts of New Orleans
We didn't have money for food or rent
To say the least, we was hard-pressed
And 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
Stepped into a satin dancin' dress
That had a slit in the side, clean up to my hips
It was red velvet trim and it fit me good
Starin' back from the lookin' glass
There stood a woman where a half-grown boy had stood
[Chorus]
"Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down
Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down"
[Verse 2]
Mama dabbed a little bit of perfume on my neck
And she kissed my cheek
I could see 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 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
Across the toe of my high-heeled shoe
It sounded like somebody else that was talkin'
Askin', "Mama, what do I do?"
She said, "Just be nice to the gentlemen, Fancy
They'll be nice to you"
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