Fancy
Fancy's Redemption: A Tale of Struggle, Triumph, and Transformation
Lyrics
I remember it all very well lookin' back it was the summer I turned eighteen
I recall vividly the summer I turned eighteen.
We lived in a oneroom rundown shack on the outskirts of New Orleans
We lived in a small, 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
We were financially struggling, unable to afford food or rent.
Then mama spent every last penny we had to buy me a satin dancin' dress
Mama used our last penny to buy me a satin dancing dress.
Mama washed and combed and curled my hair and she painted my eyes and lips
Mama took care of my appearance, washing, combing, and styling my hair, painting my eyes and lips.
Then I stepped into my satin dancin' dress
I put on the satin dancing dress.
That had a split on the side clean up to my hips
The dress had a side split up to my hips.
It was red velvet trim and it fit me good and starin' back from the lookin' glass
The red velvet-trimmed dress fit well, transforming me into a woman.
There stood a woman where a half grown kid had stood
I saw a woman in the mirror, no longer a half-grown kid.
Here's your one chance Fancy don't let me down
Mama emphasizes this is my chance to change my fate, addressing me as Fancy.
Here's your one chance Fancy don't let me down
A repetition of the urgency not to disappoint and seize the opportunity.
Mama dabbed a little bit of perfume on my neck and she kissed my cheek
Mama adds a touch of perfume, kisses my cheek, and tears well up in her eyes as she speaks.
Then I saw the tears wellin' up in her troubled eyes when she started to speak
Mama reveals the dire situation: Pa left, she's sick, and the baby is in danger of starvation.
She looked at a pitful shack and then she looked at me and took a ragged breath
She looks at our pitiful living conditions, taking a ragged breath.
Your pa's run off and I'm real sick and the baby's gonna starve to death
She hands me a heart-shaped locket with an inscription and addresses the desperate circumstances.
She handed me a heart shaped locket that said to thine owenself be true
A shiver runs through me as a roach crawls across my high-heeled shoe.
And I shivered as I watched a rouch crawl across the toe of my high heeled shoe
Someone else seems to speak, advising Mama on what to do.
It sounded like somebody else that was talkin' askin' mama what do I do
Mama advises me to be kind to men, suggesting it will benefit me.
Just be nice to the gentlemen Fancy and they'll be nice to you
A repetition of the urgent plea to seize the opportunity presented to Fancy.
Here's your one chance...
Reiteration of the urgency and importance of the chance presented to Fancy.
Lord forgive me for what I do but if you want out well it's up to you
A plea for forgiveness, expressing the difficult choices ahead and leaving the decision to a higher power.
Now don't let me down you better start movin' uptown
Mama urges me not to let her down, advising me to move uptown for a better life.
Well that was the last time I saw my ma the night I left that rickety shack
The last time Fancy sees her mother is the night she leaves the shack.
The welfare people came and took the baby mama died and I ain't been back
Social services take the baby, Mama dies, and Fancy never returns.
But the wheels of fate had started to turn and for me there was no way out
Fate begins to unfold, and Fancy feels trapped with no way out.
And it wasn't very long till I knew exactly what my mama'd been talkin' about
Fancy understands her mother's words as her life takes a challenging turn.
I knew what I had to do but I made myself this solemn vow
Fancy recognizes what she must do and makes a solemn vow to become a lady.
That I was gonna be a lady someday though I didn't know when or how
Despite uncertainty, Fancy commits to becoming a lady without knowing when or how.
I couldn't see spendin' the rest of my life with my head hung down in shame
Fancy refuses to live in shame and is determined to rise above her circumstances.
I might have been born just plain white trash but Fancy was my name
Fancy acknowledges her humble origins but embraces the name she chose.
Here's your one chance...
Reiteration of the urgent plea to seize the opportunity presented to Fancy.
It wasn't long after a benevolent man took me off the street
A benevolent man rescues Fancy from the street, changing her life.
And one week later I was pourin' his tea in a five room motel suite
Within a week, Fancy is in a luxurious five-room motel suite, serving tea.
I charmed a king a congressman and an occasional aristocrat
Fancy charms influential men, including a king, congressman, and aristocrat.
Then I got me a Georgia mansion in an elegant New York townhouse flat
Fancy attains wealth, with a mansion in Georgia and an elegant New York townhouse flat.
And I ain't done bad
A reflection on Fancy's success and the positive turn her life has taken.
Comment