Fancy
Reba McEntire Lyrics

Well, I remember it all very well, lookin' back
As I recall the past, the memories are vivid and clear

It was the summer I turned eighteen
This all happened during the summer I became an adult

We lived in a one room, rundown shack
My family and I resided in a small, deteriorating cabin

On the outskirts of New Orleans
The cabin was located just outside of New Orleans

We didn't have money for food or rent
We were broke and unable to afford basic necessities

To say the least, we were hard pressed
Our circumstances were dire and challenging

Then Mama spent every last penny we had
My mother used all of our money to buy me a dress

To buy me a dancin' dress
The dress my mother bought me was intended for dancing

My mama washed and combed and curled my hair
My mother styled my hair in preparation for the occasion

And then she painted my eyes and lips (lips), then I stepped into a satin
After doing my hair, my mother added makeup and I put on a satin dress

Dancin' dress that had a split from the side clean up to my hip
The dress had a high slit on the side that reached up to my hip

It was red velvet trim and it fit me good
The dress had red velvet detailing and fit me well

Standin' back from the lookin' glass
After getting dressed, I stepped back to see myself in the mirror

There stood a woman where a half gown kid had stood
The reflection in the mirror showed me as a grown woman, not a kid

She said, "Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down"
My mother warned me that this was my only opportunity and I had to make the most of it

Mama dabbed a little bit of perfume on my neck
My mother added a small amount of perfume to my neck

Then she kissed my cheek
My mother gave me a kiss on the cheek

And then I saw the tears wellin' up in her troubled eyes
I noticed tears forming in my mother's eyes

As she started to speak
My mother began to express her feelings and concerns

She looked at our pitiful shack
My mother glanced around our poor living conditions

And then she looked at me and took a ragged breath
My mother turned to me and took a deep breath

She said, "Your pa's runned off and I'm real sick
My father left and my mother was very ill

And the baby's gonna starve to death"
We were unable to provide for my infant sibling

She handed me a heart-shaped locket that said "To thine own self be true"
My mother gave me a locket with an inscription encouraging me to be true to myself

And I shivered as I watched a roach crawl across the toe of my high heel shoe
As I stood in my fancy dress, I felt uneasy as a roach crawled across my shoe

It sounded like somebody else, it was talkin'
What my mother said and what I heard seemed like two different things

Askin', "Mama, what do I do?"
I asked my mother for guidance and advice

She said, "Just be nice to the gentlemen, Fancy
My mother encouraged me to be polite and friendly to the men I would meet

They'll be nice to you"
She suggested that the men would treat me well in return

Lord, forgive me for what I do
I ask for forgiveness for my actions

But if you want out, well, it's up to you
I could have chosen to leave my fate up to chance

Now don't let me down now
But I couldn't disappoint my mother after all she had done for me

Your mama's gonna move you uptown"
My mother had high hopes and dreams for me and believed that I could make it big

Well, that was the last time I saw my ma
After that night, I never saw my mother again

The night I left that rickety shack
The night I left home and my old life behind

The welfare people came and took the baby
The government took my younger sibling away due to our inability to provide

Mama died and I ain't been back
My mother passed away and I never returned home

But the wheels of fate had started to turn
My life began to follow a different path

And for me there was no way out
I realized I was stuck in this new life and had to keep going

It wasn't very long 'til I knew exactly
It didn't take long for me to understand my situation completely

What my mama been talkin' about
I finally understood what my mother had been trying to tell me

I knew what I had to do when I made myself this solemn vow
I made a promise to myself about what I needed to do

That I's gonna be a lady someday
I was determined to become a sophisticated woman one day

Though I don't know when or how
I didn't know how or when that would happen

But I couldn't see spending the rest of my life
I didn't want to live the rest of my life in shame and poverty

With my head hung down in shame
I refused to be ashamed of my past and upbringing

You know I might have been born just plain white trash
I was born into a poor and uneducated family

But Fancy was my name
But I had a name that I was proud of

It wasn't long after a benevolent man
Not long after, a generous man took me in

Took me in off the streets
He gave me a place to stay and helped me start a new life

One week later, I was pourin' his tea
Within a week, I began working for him as a servent

In a five-room hotel suite (yes, she was)
I was living and working in a luxurious hotel suite

I charmed a king, a congressman
With my charm and grace, I won the hearts of a king and congressman

And an occasional aristocrat
And sometimes even a member of the aristocracy

And then I got me a Georgia mansion
Eventually, I acquired a large mansion in Georgia

And an elegant New York townhouse flat
And even an elegant townhouse in New York City

And I ain't done bad (she ain't done bad)
All in all, I'd say things turned out pretty well for me

Now in this world, there's a lot of self-righteous hypocrites
The world is full of people who pretend to be morally superior

That'd call me bad
They may view me negatively due to my past

And criticize mama for turning me out
They may place blame on my mother for my current lifestyle

No matter how little we had
Regardless of our poverty, my mother did the best she could to help me

But though I ain't had to worry 'bout nothin'
Despite my success, I still hear my mother's voice in my head

For nigh on fifteen years
It's been almost fifteen years since I left home

Well, I can still hear the desperation
I can still hear the sadness and desperation in my mother's voice

In my poor mama's voice ringin' in my ears
It's a memory that stays with me to this day

"Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down
My mother's final words to me still resonate and drive me to this day

Oh, here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down
She wanted me to take this chance and make the most of it

Lord, forgive me for what I do
I pray for forgiveness for my actions and choices

But if you want out, well, it's up to you
It's ultimately up to me if I want to change my life

Now don't let me down hun
I can't disappoint my mother after all she did for me

Your mama's gonna move you uptown"
My mother had high hopes and expectations for my future success and happiness

Oh and I guess she did
I guess I did live up to her expectations