"Fancy" is a song written and recorded by
Bobbie Gentry
Bobbie Gentry (born Roberta Lee Streeter; July 27, 1942) is an American retired singer-songwriter. She was one of the first female artists in the United States to compose and produce her own material.
Gentry rose to international fame in 1967 ...
in 1969.
The country song was a crossover pop music hit for Gentry, reaching the top 40 of the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 (her second and final solo single to do so) and the top 30 of the ''Billboard''
country chart.
Content
The song depicts its protagonist using prostitution to overcome childhood poverty. Gentry viewed the song as a
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
statement:
The
Southern Gothic
Southern Gothic is an artistic subgenre of Gothic fiction, fiction, Popular music, music, Gothic film, film, theatre, and television that are heavily influenced by Gothic fiction, Gothic elements and the Southern United States, American South. ...
style-song is told from the perspective of a woman named Fancy looking back to the summer she was 18 years old.
Fancy and her "plain
white trash
White trash is a derogatory term in American English for poor white people, especially in the rural areas of the southern United States. The label signifies a social class within the white population, especially those perceived to have a ...
" family (a baby sibling and their mother, the father having abandoned them) lived in
poverty
Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...
— "a one room, rundown shack on the outskirts of
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
". Her mother is
terminally ill
Terminal illness or end-stage disease is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer, rather than fatal injur ...
and has no way to care for the baby.
In a last desperate act to save Fancy from the
cycle of poverty
In economics, a cycle of poverty, poverty trap or generational poverty is when poverty seems to be inherited, preventing subsequent generations from escaping it. It is caused by self-reinforcing mechanisms that cause poverty, once it exists, to ...
, her mother spends her last money to buy Fancy a red "dancing
dress
A dress (also known as a frock or a gown) is a one-piece outer garment that is worn on the torso, hangs down over the legs, and is primarily worn by women or girls. Dresses often consist of a bodice attached to a skirt.
Dress shapes, silh ...
", makeup and perfume, and a locket inscribed with the phrase "
To thine own self be true
''To Thine Own Self Be True'' is the third studio album by hip hop Supergroup (music), supergroup La Coka Nostra, released on November 4, 2016, via Fat Beats Records.
Background
In 2012, La Coka Nostra released their second album, ''Masters of ...
". She encourages Fancy to "start movin' uptown" and to "be nice to the gentlemen, Fancy, and they'll be nice to you," saying that this is the only way Fancy will be able to gain
financial independence
Financial independence is a state where an individual or household has accumulated sufficient financial resources to cover its living expenses without having to depend on active employment or work to earn money in order to maintain its current ...
.
Fancy recalls her mother's parting words: "Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down" and "If you want out, well, it's up to you." Fancy departs, never to return; shortly thereafter, her mother dies and the baby is placed in
foster care
Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community or treatment centre), or private home of a state- certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent", or with a family mem ...
. She becomes trapped in her new way of life, her "head hung down in shame," and vows to find a way to become "a lady someday, though (she) didn't know when or how." Fancy is taken in off the streets by a
"benevolent man" and begins having relationships with wealthy, powerful men, which she parlays into owning a Georgia
mansion
A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...
and a
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
townhouse flat. In the present day, fifteen years after being taken in off the streets, she denounces "self-righteous hypocrites" who criticize her mother for putting Fancy into that situation, justifying both her and her mother's actions by flashing back to the distress her mother expressed when she sent Fancy onto the streets, and celebrating the prosperity she now enjoys because of her actions.
Much of the fictional Fancy story had parallels in Gentry's own life: she too had grown up in poverty in the South, and a month after the song was released, she married the casino magnate
Bill Harrah in a
marriage that would last four months. She also cited the film ''
Ruby Gentry
''Ruby Gentry'' is a 1952 film directed by King Vidor, and starring Jennifer Jones, Charlton Heston, and Karl Malden. In February 2020, the film was shown at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, as part of a retrospective dedicated to K ...
'', from which she took her stage surname, as an inspiration for both the song and her personal life.
Critical reception
The song was a cross-over country and pop hit for Gentry in early 1970. The
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
containing the song received a
Grammy
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
nomination for "Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Performance, Female".
Chart performance
Reba McEntire version
In 1990, Reba McEntire covered the song, which was included on her album ''
Rumor Has It
Rumor Has It or Rumour Has It may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Rumor Has It'' (film), a 2005 romantic comedy film
* ''Rumor Has It'' (game show), a 1993 game show on VH1
* ''Rumour Has It '', a 2016 series by Ndani TV
* "Rumor Has It", a ...
''. McEntire's version surpassed the original on the country music charts, reaching number eight on the Top Ten on
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
's Hot Country Hits. McEntire also produced a popular music video for the song, expanding on the song's storyline. For years, McEntire has encored her live concerts with the hit, singing the first half of the song in a ragged black mink coat and hat then removing them to reveal a floor length red gown for the second half. She has referred to the song as her "possible signature hit". (The edit of the song heard on most radio stations cuts the song short after three verses, before the title character makes it off the streets.) McEntire had wanted to record the song since 1984 but her producer at the time,
Jimmy Bowen
James Albert Bowen (born November 30, 1937) is an American record producer and former rockabilly singer. Bowen brought Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood together, and introduced Sinatra to Mel Tillis for their album, ''Mel & Nancy.''
Early life
...
was against it because he believed the song was too closely associated to Gentry. When Reba changed producers to
Tony Brown, she was able to record it for her 1990 album ''
Rumor Has It
Rumor Has It or Rumour Has It may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Rumor Has It'' (film), a 2005 romantic comedy film
* ''Rumor Has It'' (game show), a 1993 game show on VH1
* ''Rumour Has It '', a 2016 series by Ndani TV
* "Rumor Has It", a ...
''. As of November 2019, the song has sold 760,000 digital copies in the United States.
Critical reception
In 2024, ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' ranked McEntire's rendition at #65 on its 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time ranking.
Music video
The music video for the song tells the story of the song itself in more detail. It opens with the title character, Fancy Rae Baker, played by McEntire, riding in a taxi cab and arriving at the site of the small shack on the outskirts of New Orleans where she grew up, which is now abandoned. The video takes something of a creative license with the song as McEntire's version of Fancy, much like McEntire herself, is a famous singer and actress. The story of the song plays out against the background accompanied by flashbacks of Fancy's past with her mother and baby sibling playing prominent roles.
Near the end of the video, Fancy visits her mother's grave in the backyard of the shack and sees her mother's ghost standing nearby. She tells her that she understands now and forgives her. As the video ends, Fancy departs in her taxi and a large sign is seen in the front yard that says that the property is to be the future home of the Fancy Rae Baker Home for Runaways, dedicated to the memory of her late mother, with the home's motto "to thine own self be true" (the engraving on the locket Fancy's mother gave her before she left, which she threw down before leaving but retrieved at her return and placed on her mother's gravestone).
Though the song's lyrics indicate that the events described took place in the summer Fancy turned 18, in the video, the clothing worn by the characters, and the surrounding bare foliage, would appear to indicate winter conditions in southern Louisiana. The video was actually filmed on a cold, rainy, January day, a few miles outside Nashville, Tennessee.
Chart performance
Dave Aude remix
Certifications
References in Stephen King's book "Duma Key"
In Stephen King's book ''
Duma Key'', there are some references to this song.
In the book Edgar says he called his doll "Reba" because the radio in his car played Reba McEntire's song "Fancy" when he had his accident, and when he forgets his doll's name, he thinks about the song, especially about the sentence: "...It was RED!..." from the song.
Also, there are a lot of references to this particular sentence ("...It was RED!...") when something in the book is red, all because his car radio played the song when the accident happened.
References
{{authority control
1969 singles
1991 singles
Bobbie Gentry songs
Lynn Anderson songs
Reba McEntire songs
Songs about New Orleans
Songs about prostitutes
Songs with feminist themes
Songs written by Bobbie Gentry
Song recordings produced by Tony Brown (record producer)
Capitol Records singles
MCA Records singles
1969 songs