Born in tiny North, South Carolina to Mamie Kitt, who was of Cherokee and African-American descent, and an American father (surname Kitt) of German and Dutch descent, she was raised by her maternal aunt Anna Mae Riley, whom she believed was her mother up until after Riley's death, when she was sent to live in New York City with her real mother.
Kitt began her career as a member of the Katherine Dunham Company and made her film debut with them in Casbah (1948). A talented singer with a distinctive voice, her hits include Let's Do It, C'est Si Bon (It's So Good), Just an Old Fashioned Girl, Monotonous, Love for Sale, I'd Rather Be Burned as a Witch, Uska Dara, Mink, Schmink, Under the Bridges of Paris, and arguably her most recognizable hit, the sexily sung Christmas song Santa Baby. She sang quite a few songs in French, a language she picked up during her years performing in Europe, but she never lost her American accent, which made her French songs sound rather amusing to native French speakers. She dabbled in other languages as well, which she demonstrated in many of the live recordings of her cabaret performances.
In 1950, Orson Welles gave her her first starring role, as Helen of Troy in his staging of Dr. Faustus. A few years later, she was cast in the revue New Faces of 1952, introducing "Monotonous", "C'est Si Bon" and "Santa Baby", three songs with which she continues to be identified. During her run, 20th Century Fox filmed a version of the play. Welles and Kitt allegedly had a torrid affair during her run in Shinbone Alley, which earned her the nickname by Welles as "the most exciting woman in the world". In 1958, Kitt made her feature film debut opposite Sidney Poitier in The Mark of the Hawk. Throughout the rest of the 1950s and early 1960s, Kitt would work on and off in film, television and on nightclub stages. In the late 1960s television series Batman, she played Catwoman after Julie Newmar left the role. This was the role for which she would best be remembered, owing to her purring feline drawl.
In 1968, however, Kitt encountered a substantial professional setback after she made anti-war statements during a White House luncheon that reportedly made First Lady Lady Bird Johnson weep uncontrollably. Professionally exiled from the U.S., she devoted her energies to overseas performances before returning to New York in a triumphant turn in the Broadway spectacle Timbuktu! (a version of the perennial Kismet set in Africa) in 1978. In the musical, one song gives a 'recipe' for mahoun, a preparation of cannabis, in which her sultry purring rendition of the refrain "constantly stirring with a long wooden spoon" was distinctive.
In 1984, she returned to hit music with a dance song, Where Is My Man; the first certified Gold record of her career. Kitt found new audiences in nightclubs across the country, including a whole new generation of gay male fans, and she responded by frequently giving benefit performances in support of HIV/AIDS organizations.
In 2000, Kitt again returned to Broadway in the short but notable run of the revival of the 1920s-themed, The Wild Party, opposite Mandy Patinkin and Toni Collette. In 2003, she replaced Chita Rivera in Nine. In recent years she had also appeared as the Wicked Witch in the North American national touring company of The Wizard of Oz.
One of her more unusual roles was as Kaa the python in a 1994 BBC Radio adaptation of The Jungle Book. Kitt lent her distinctive voice to the role of Yzma in Disney's The Emperor's New Groove and also did other voiceover work such as the voice of Queen Vexus on the animated TV series My Life as a Teenage Robot. She continued her role as Yzma on the spin-off TV series of The Emperor's New Groove, The Emperor's New School.
In recent years, Kitt's annual appearances in New York made her a fixture of the Manhattan cabaret scene. She took the stage at venues such as the Ballroom and, more recently, the Café Carlyle to explore and define her highly stylized image, alternating between signature songs (such as "Old Fashioned Millionaire"), which emphasized a witty, mercenary world-weariness, and less familiar repertoire, much of which she performed with an unexpected ferocity and bite that presented her as a survivor with a seemingly bottomless reservoir of resilience - her version of Here's to Life, frequently used as a closing number, was a sterling example of the latter. This side of her later performances is reflected in at least one of her recordings, Thinking Jazz, which preserves a series of performances with a small jazz combo that took place in the early 1990s in Germany, and which includes both standards (Smoke Gets in Your Eyes) and numbers (such as Something May Go Wrong) that seem more specifically tailored to her talents; one version of the CD includes as bonus performances a fierce, angry Yesterdays and a live take of "C'est Si Bon" that good-humoredly satirizes her sex-kitten persona.
Personal life
Kitt was married to John William McDonald, an associate of a real-estate investment company, from 1960 to 1965. They had one child, a daughter, Kitt (b. 1962, married Charles Lawrence Shapiro); and two grandchildren, Jason and Rachel Shapiro.
Eartha Kitt died of colon cancer on Christmas Day, December 25, 2008.
C’est si bon
Eartha Kitt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
De partir n'importe où
Bras dessus, bras dessous
En chantant des chansons
C'est si bon
De se dire des mots doux
De petits riens du tout
En voyant notre mine ravie
Les passants dans la rue nous envient
C'est si bon
De guetter dans ses yeux
Un espoir merveilleux
Qui donne le frisson
C'est si bon
Ces petites sensations
Ça vaut mieux qu'un million
C'est tellement, tellement bon
(C'est bon, c'est bon)
Mmm, c'est bon
Voilà, c'est bon
Les passants dans la rue
Bras dessus, bras dessous
En chantant des chansons
Quel espoir merveilleux
Mmm, c'est bon
Je cherche un millionnaire
Avec des grands "Cadillac car"
"Mink coats"
Des bijoux jusqu'au cou, tu sais?
Mmm, c'est bon
Cette petites sensations
Ou peut-être quelqu'un
Avec un petit yacht, no?
Ah, c'est bon
C'est bon, c'est bon
Vous savez bien que j'attendrais
Quelqu'un qui pourrait m'apporter
Beaucoup de "loot"
Ce soir? Demain? La semaine prochaine?
N'importe quand
Mmm, c'est bon, si bon
Il sera très. Crazy, no?
Voilà, c'est tellement bon!
The lyrics of the song "C'est si bon" by Eartha Kitt depict the enjoyment of doing simple things with someone you love. The repetitive chorus of "C'est si bon" translates to "it's so good" and emphasizes the pleasure that the singer derives from being with a loved one. Going anywhere together and singing songs with arms linked, as described in the first verse, becomes a beautiful experience. Even whispering sweet nothings, an act that may seem insignificant, brings joy to the couple. The lyrics suggest that the happiness derived from love is contagious, as seen by the envious looks of passers-by.
Furthermore, the second verse of the song talks about a hope that comes with being in love. The singer wishes to see in her lover's eyes a sign of a bright future, something that would give her chills. The lyrics imply that being in love brings about a sense of wonder and anticipation of what is to come. Additionally, towards the end of the song, the lyrics introduce a new perspective, where the singer jokes about wanting a millionaire with a Cadillac, mink coats, and lots of jewelry. This line shows that the singer is now contemplating what luxuries she wants to enjoy with a lover in the future, inviting the listener to join in the conversation.
Line by Line Meaning
C'est si bon
It is so good
De partir n'importe où
To go anywhere
Bras dessus, bras dessous
Arm in arm
En chantant des chansons
While singing songs
De se dire des mots doux
To say sweet words
De petits riens du tout
About nothing at all
Mais qui en disent long
But which say a lot
En voyant notre mine ravie
Seeing our happy faces
Les passants dans la rue nous envient
Passersby on the street envy us
De guetter dans ses yeux
To look for in their eyes
Un espoir merveilleux
A wonderful hope
Qui donne le frisson
That gives us shivers
Ces petites sensations
These small sensations
Ça vaut mieux qu'un million
Are worth more than a million
C'est tellement, tellement bon
It is so, so good
(C'est bon, c'est bon)
(It's good, it's good)
Mmm, c'est bon
Mmm, it's good
Voilà, c'est bon
There, it's good
Les passants dans la rue
The passersby on the street
Bras dessus, bras dessous
Arm in arm
En chantant des chansons
While singing songs
Quel espoir merveilleux
What a wonderful hope
Je cherche un millionnaire
I'm looking for a millionaire
Avec des grands "Cadillac car"
With big "Cadillac cars"
"Mink coats"
"Mink coats"
Des bijoux jusqu'au cou, tu sais?
Jewelry up to the neck, you know?
Cette petites sensations
This small sensation
Ou peut-être quelqu'un
Or maybe someone
Avec un petit yacht, no?
With a little yacht, no?
Ah, c'est bon
Ah, it's good
Vous savez bien que j'attendrais
You know very well that I would wait
Quelqu'un qui pourrait m'apporter
Someone who could bring me
Beaucoup de "loot"
A lot of "loot"
Ce soir? Demain? La semaine prochaine?
Tonight? Tomorrow? Next week?
N'importe quand
Anytime
Il sera très. Crazy, no?
He will be very crazy, no?
Voilà, c'est tellement bon!
There, it is so good!
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, BEUSCHER ARPEGE, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Henri Betti, Andre Hornez
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Aitor Pikabea
Spanish Subtitles
Es tan bueno,
Simplemente deambulando por aquí
Cogidos del brazo, brazo con brazo,
Y cantando.
Es tan bueno,
Susurra palabras dulces
Las pequeños nadas,
Pero pequeñas cosas que pueden ser
dichas una y otra vez.
Al ver nuestra enamorada expresión
Los transeúntes en la calle nos envidian.
Es tan bueno,
Ver brillar en sus ojos
Una promesa maravillosa
Que te estremece
Es tan bueno
Estas pequeñas emociones
Que valen más de un millón
Es tan, tan bueno.
Es bueno - Sí, es bueno
Los transeúntes en la calle
Cogidos del brazo, brazo con brazo
cantando
¡Qué maravillosa promesa!
Mmm - Es bueno
Busco un millonario
Con un gran Cadillac
Abrigos de visón - joyas
Para el cuello - ¿sabes?
Estoy obligada
Tan grande como el puño
No importa cual
Muy caros ¿No?
Esta noche? - Mañana - La próxima semana?
No importa cuándo.
Solamente muchos
Es bueno
Esta pequeña sensación
Tal vez alguien con un pequeño yate, ¿no?
Aahhh es bueno
es bueno - tan bueno
Tu sabes que yo estoy esperando
alguien que me puede dar
un montón de botines
Va a ser muy una locura, ¿no?
¡Es muy bueno!
JR.......
Je ne sais pas si l'année de plus blonde
Mais de plus belle il n'en est pas pour moi
Elle est vraiment toute la joie du monde
Ma vie commence dès que je la voie
Et je fait "o"
Et je fait "a"
C'est si bon, de partir n'importe où
Bras dessus bras dessous, en chantant des chansons
C'est si bon, de se dire des mots doux
Des petits rien du tout, mais qui en disent long
En voyant notre mine ravie
Les passants dans la rue nous envient
C'est si bon, de guetter dans ses yeux un
Espoir merveilleux, qui me donne le frisson
C'est si bon, ces petites sensations
Sa vaut plus qu'un million
Tellement tellement c'est bon
Vous devinez [...?] le notre
Et si je l'aime vous comprenez pourquoi
Elle est [...?] et je n'en veut plus d'autre
Car elle est toutes les femmes à la fois
Elle me fait "o"
Elle me fait "a"
C'est si bon, de pouvoir l'embracer
Et puis de recommencer, à la moindre occasion
C'est si bon, de jouer du piano
Tout le long se son dos, pendant que nous dansons
C'est inouï ce qu'elle a pour sduire
Sans parler de c'que je n'peux pas dire
C'est si bon, quand j'la tiens dans mes bras
De me dire que tout sa, c'est a moi pour de bon
C'est si bon, et si nous nous aimons
Cherchez pas la raison, c'est parc'que c'est si bon
C'est parce que c'est si bon
C'est parce que c'est si[?] bon
Use the Google translate
Charles Moen
How do you think I feel? I’m a 65 year old man and just discovered her 😭💕Her daughter wrote a book about her life that I simply must have! There are no contemporaries that can hold a candle to her voice and intellect! R.I.P. beautiful Eartha 🕊
Ape
I agree, Ms Kitt is an incomparable performer. I'm going to get the biography her daughter wrote today, TY, for the info!
oh, ummm the singer for the band Sade is the best living singer IMO. A contraltos' voice improves with time, Judy Garland and Nina Simone, two pure contraltos, had long careers, for example.
(Now I have to find out what Ms Kitts vocal range was.)
Setting aside intellect, I'm pretty sure Helen Adu can hold a torch up to any singer that's ever been born.
Teri Trujillo
I remember her from when I was a child. "The most exciting woman in the world" she was called by Orsen Wells. Love her. Purrrrrrrrr
Dave T
Didn't you watch Batman in the 60s? Eartha made a great Catwoman.
Lettie Grant
We’re you living in a cave?
Her.
I remember hearing her as Yzma on Emperor's New Groove when I was little but this is my first time at 24 hearing her sing 😍🙌🏾 RIP Eartha Kitt 🙏🏾 voice of an angel
House on The Rock 310
perfect pitch, vibrato, tone, range and no auto tune! oh, and the band isn't quantized
Kyle Preston
This performance is intoxicating and beautiful .
Kevin Hanson
@kyle That is the perfect word to describe this performance and Ms. Kitt - Intoxicating!
Dea'
There will never be another EARTHA!!!