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CAPO at II Intro: E G A E / ///// / ///// / ///// / //// / E I remember it all very well lookin' back A It was the summer I turned eighteen A We lived in a one room, rundown shack C E On the outskirts of New Orleans E We didn't have money for food or rent A To say the least we were hard pressed A Then Mama spent every last penny we had C E To buy me a dancin' dress E Mama washed and combed and curled my hair A D and she painted my eyes and lips then I stepped into a satin A E dancin' dress that had a split on the side clean up to my hip E A It was red velvet trim and it fit me good D Standin' back from the lookin' glass A E There stood a woman where a half grown kid had stood C A E run#1 She said here's your one chance Fancy don't let me down G A E run#2 E Here's your one chance Fancy don't let me down E Mama dabbed a little bit of perfume on my neck A And she kissed my cheek A C Then I saw the tears wellin' up in her troubled eyes E When she started to speak E She looked at a pitiful shack A And then she looked at me and took a ragged breath A She said your Pa's run off and I'm real sick C E And the baby's gonna starve to death E She handed me a heart shaped locket that said A 'To thine own self be true' D And I shivered as I watched a roach crawl across A E the toe of my high heeled shoe E It sounded like somebody else that was talkin' G# C# Askin' Mama what do I do A She said just be nice to the gentlemen Fancy B E And they'll be nice to you C A E run#1 She said, here's your one chance Fancy don't let me down G A E run#2 Here's your one chance Fancy don't let me down G A C Lord forgive me for what I do, but if you want out D Well it's up to you C B E Now don't let me down you better start movin' uptown E Well that was the last time I saw my Ma A The night I left that rickety shack A The welfare people came and took the baby C E Mama died and I ain't been back E But the wheel of fate had started to turn A And for me there was no way out A And it wasn't very long 'til I knew exactly C E What my Mama'd been talkin' about E A I knew what I had to do but I made myself this solemn vow D That I's gonna be a lady someday A E Though I didn't know when or how E I couldn't see spending the rest of my life G# C# With my head hung down in shame you know A I might have been born just plain white trash B E But Fancy was my name C A E run#1 Here's your one chance Fancy don't let me down G A E run#2 E Here's your one chance Fancy don't let me down * Guitar in next verse is played almost as percussion * Fret-hand dampens strings, pick-hand keeps tempo It wasn't long after a benevolent man Took me off the street And one week later I was pourin' his tea In a five room hotel suite I charmed a king, a congressman And an occasional aristocrat Then I got me a Georgia mansion In an elegant New York townhouse flat * Guitar comes back in... E repeat intro E G A E And I ain't done bad E A Now in this world there's a lot of self-righteous hippocrits That would call me bad D And criticize Mama for turning me out A E No matter how little we had E But though I ain't had to worry 'bout nothin' G# C# For nigh on fifteen years A I can still hear the desparation in my poor B E Mama's voice ringin' in my ear C A E run#1 She said, here's your one chance Fancy don't let me down G A E run#2 Here's your one chance Fancy don't let me down G A Lord forgive me for what I do C D But if you want out well it's up to you C Now don't let me down B E Your Mama's goina help you uptown E repeat intro/outro to end... I guess she did
Written by Bobbie Gentry
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