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CAPO at II Intro:
E/ G//A//E/ / ///// / ///// / //// / I Eremember it all very well lookin' back It wAas the summer I turned eighteen We Alived in a one room, rundown shack OCn thEe outskirts of New Orleans We Edidn't have money for food or rent To saAy the least we were hard pressed Then AMama spent every last penny we had To Cbuy meE a dancin' dress
MEama washed and combed and curled my hair aAndD she painted my eyes and lips then I stepped into a satin dAanEcin' dress that had a split on the side clean up to my hip EIt wAas red velvet trim and it fit me good StDandin' back from the lookin' glass ThereA sEtood 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
Mama Edabbed a little bit of perfume on my neck AAnd she kissed my cheek TAheCn I saw the tears wellin' up in her troubled eyes When Eshe started to speak She Elooked at a pitiful shack And thenA she looked at me and took a ragged breath She saiAd your Pa's run off and I'm real sick ACndE the baby's gonna starve to death She Ehanded me a heart shaped locket that said &quoAt;To thine own self be true" ADnd I shivered as I watched a roach crawl across the Atoe Eof my high heeled shoe It Esounded like somebody else that was talkin' AG#skin' MamC#a what do I do SAhe said just be nice to the gentlemen Fancy And BthEey'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
LGorAd forgivCe me for what I do, but if you want out Well it's uDp to you Now CdoBn'Et let me down you better start movin' uptown
Well Ethat was the last time I saw my Ma TAhe night I left that rickety shack TAhe welfare people came and took the baby Mama Cdied Eand I ain't been back
But Ethe wheel of fate had started to turn AAnd for me there was no way out AAnd it wasn't very long 'til I knew exactly WChat myE Mama'd been talkin' about
I Eknew Awhat I had to do but I made myself this solemn vow That ID's gonna be a lady someday TAhough IE didn't know when or how I Ecouldn't see spending the rest of my life WG#ith mC#y head hung down in shame you know IA might have been born just plain white trash But FBancyE 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
NEow iAn this world there's a lot of self-righteous hippocrits That would call me bad And Dcriticize Mama for turning me out No AmaEtter how little we had
BEut though I ain't had to worry 'bout nothin' For G#nigh onC# fifteen years I can Astill hear the desparation in my poor MBama'sE 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
LGorAd forgive me for what I do BCut if Dyou want out well it's up to you Now dCon't let me down Your BMama'Es goina help you uptown
E repeat intro/outro to end... I guess she did -------------------------------------------------------------- Comments: Play the following sequence of notes (open strings correspond to CAPO at II). Run#1 -f#-||---------- Run#2 -f#-||---------- -c#-||---------- -c#-||-0-------- -a -||-----0---- -a -||---2-0---- -e -||-0-2---0-2 -e -||-------0-2 -b -||---------- -b -||---------- -F#-||---------- -F#-||---------- Similar note runs occur throughout the song, so listen for them. Or make up your own, like me (i.e., whenever I hit a wrong note -- which is pretty often). What else... the song is performed with a lot of attitude, so the strumming/pickin' tempo is reflective of that.