Fancy

intro
F# A B F#

F#
i remember it all very well lookin’ back
E
it was the summer i turned eighteen
B
we lived in a one room , rundown shack
D
on the outskirts of new orleans
F#
we didn’t have money for food or rent
E
to say the least we were hard pressed
B
then mama spent every last penny we had
D
to buy me a dancin’ dress

F#
mama washed and combed and curled my hair
B F#
and she painted my eyes and lips then i stepped into a satin
B F#
dancin’ dress that had a split on the side clean up to my hip
F# B F#
it was red velvet trim and it fit me good
F#
standin’ back from the lookin’ glass
B F#
there stood a woman where a half grown kid had stood

D E F#
she said here’s your one chance fancy don’t let me down
A B F#
here’s your one chance fancy don’t let me down

F# E
mama dabbed a little bit of perfume on my neck

and she kissed my cheek
B/D# D
then i saw the tears wellin’ up in her troubled eyes

when she started to speak
F#
she looked at a pitiful shack
E
and then she looked at me and took a ragged breath
B/D#
she said your pa’s run off and i’m real sick
D
and the baby’s gonna starve to death
F#
she handed me a heart shaped locket that said
E
“to thine own self be true”
B/D#
and i shivered as i watched a roach crawl across
D
the toe of my high heeled shoe
F#
it sounded like somebody else that was talkin’
A# D#m
askin’ mama what do i do
B
she said just be nice to the gentlemen fancy
C#
and they’ll be nice to you

D E F#
she said , here’s your one chance fancy don’t let me down
A B F#
here’s your one chance fancy don’t let me down
A B D
lord forgive me for what i do , but if you want out
E
well it’s up to you
D C# F#
now don’t let me down now your mama’s gonna move you uptown

F#
well that was the last time i saw my mama
E
the night i left that rickety shack
B/D#
the welfare people came and took the baby
D
mama died and i ain’t been back

F#
but the wheel of fate had started to turn
E
and for me there was no way out
B/D#
and it wasn’t very long ’til i knew exactly
D
what my mama’d been talkin’ about

F# E
i knew what i had to do but i made myself this solemn vow
B/D#
that i’s gonna be a lady someday
D
though i didn’t know when or how
F#
i couldn’t see spending the rest of my life
A# D#m
with my head hung down in shame you know
B
i might have been born just plain white trash
C#
but fancy was my name

D E F#
here’s your one chance fancy don’t let me down
A B F#
here’s your one chance fancy don’t let me down

( F# )
it wasn’t long after a benevolent man
( E )
took me off the street
( B )
and one week later i was pourin’ his tea
( F# )
in a five room hotel suite

( F# )
i charmed a king , a congressman

and an occasional aristocrat

then i got me a georgia mansion

in an elegant new york townhouse flat
F# A B ( F# )
and i ain’t gone back

F# B
now in this world there’s a lot of self – righteous hippocrits
F#
that call me bad

and criticize mama for turning me out
B F#
no matter how little we had

but though i ain’t had to worry ’bout nothin’
A# D#m
for nigh on fifteen years
B
well , i can still hear the desperation in my poor
C#
mama’s voice ringin’ in my ears
D E F#
“here’s your one chance fancy , don’t let me down . ”
A B F#
oh . “here’s your one chance fancy , don’t let me down . ”
A B
“lord , forgive me for what i do
D
but if you want out
E
well , it’s up to you
D C# F#
now don’t let me down hon , your mama’s gonna move you uptown . ”

and i guess she did

outro same as intro