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The History and Meaning Behind Reba McEntire’s 1991 Hit “Fancy”
The fascinating story behind one of Reba's most beloved country hits.
Country superstar Reba McEntire has a career of mega-hits, but one of her most memorable songs is actually not an original at all. So what’s the story behind “Fancy,” and how did it become synonymous with Reba over the past few decades even though she wasn’t the first to perform it?
Currently enjoying her first season as Coach McEntire on The Voice, the Queen of Country was always a fan of “Fancy,” a song originally written and recorded by Bobbie Gentry all the way back in 1969. It was a modest hit at the time, cracking the Billboard Top 40, but it also caught the ear of a young McEntire.
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That’s what eventually led McEntire to cover “Fancy” with her own version, while putting together her 1991 album Rumor Has It. Her version of “Fancy” actually surpassed Gentry’s original on the charts, cracking the Top 10 on Billboard’s country charts in the year of its release more than 20 years after the original version.
What Is the Meaning of Reba McEntire’s “Fancy”?
McEntire opened up about her affinity for the song in a 2019 interview, noting it was always at the top of her list if she had a chance to cover a song for one of her albums. The song itself, as written by Guthrie, tells the story of a down on her luck woman who is doing anything possible to try and get by and make ends meet.
“It’s a rags-to-riches story. I love rags-to-riches stories. Cinderella, Annie Get Your Gun, all poverty and then make it big in the world,” she told Country Living. “Fancy — she had a lot going against her and she persevered and moved on … I always wanted to record it. Then [producer] Tony Brown said, ‘What’s a song you’d like to do a remake of?’ And I said, ‘Fancy.’ He said, 'That’s one of my favorite songs, too.' And so we recorded it.”
What Is Reba’s “Fancy” Music Video About?
McEntire turned the song and its story into a full-on short film for the release of her version, casting herself as the main character, Fancy, in the music video. The video tells the story of a now-famous Fancy as she revisits her childhood home and recounts the memories of her life. The video was directed by Jack Cole.
The Lyrics for Reba McEntire’s “Fancy” (Written by Bobbie Gentry)
I remember it all very well lookin' back
It was the summer I turned eighteen
We lived in a one-room, run-down shack
On the outskirts of New Orleans
We didn't have money for food or rent
To say the least we were hard-pressed
Then mama spent every last penny we had
To buy me a dancin' dress
Mama washed and combed and curled my hair
And she painted my eyes and lips
Then I stepped into a satin dancin' dress
That had a split on the side clean up to my hips
It was red velvet trim and it fit me good
Standin' back from the lookin' glass
There stood a woman where a half-grown kid had stood
She said, "Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down
Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down"
Mama dabbed a little bit of perfume on my neck, then she kissed my cheek
And then I saw the tears wellin' up in her troubled eyes when she started to speak
She looked at her pitiful shack
And then she looked at me and took a ragged breath
She said, "Your pa's runned off, I'm real sick
And the baby's gonna starve to death"
She handed me a heart-shaped locket that said
"To thine own self be true."
And I shivered as I watched a roach crawl across
The toe of my high-heeled shoe
It sounded like somebody else that was talkin'
Askin', "Mama, what do I do?"
She said, "Just be nice to the gentlemen, Fancy
And they'll be nice to you."
She said, "Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down
Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down
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Lord, forgive me for what I do
But if you want out, well, it's up to you
Now don't let me down
Now your mama's gonna move you uptown"
Well, that was the last time I saw my ma
The night I left that rickety shack
The welfare people came and took the baby
Mama died and I ain't been back
But the wheels of fate had started to turn
And for me there was no way out
It wasn't very long 'til I knew exactly
What my mama'd been talkin' about
I knew what I had to do and I made myself this solemn vow
That I's gonna be a lady someday
Though I didn't know when or how
But I couldn't see spending the rest of my life
With my head hung down in shame
You know I might have been born just plain white trash
But Fancy was my name
She said, "Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down"
She said, "Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down"
It wasn't long after that benevolent man took me in off the street
And one week later I was pourin' his tea in a five-room hotel suite (yes, she was)
I charmed a king, a congressman and an occasional aristocrat
And then I got me a Georgia mansion and an elegant New York townhouse flat
And I ain't done bad (she ain't been bad)
Now in this world, there's a lot of self-righteous hypocrites
That would call me bad
They criticize my mama for turning me out
No matter how little we had
But though I ain't had to worry 'bout nothin' for now on fifteen years
Well, I can still hear the desperation in my poor mama's voice ringin' in my ears
"Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down"
She said, "Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down
Lord, forgive me for what I do
But if you want out, well, it's up to you
Now don't let me down
Now your Mama's gonna move you uptown"
Well, I guess she did
Catch Reba in action every week on The Voice, Mondays and Tuesdays 8/7c on NBC and next day on Peacock.
