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 Magnifique
Eartha Kitt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And takes you for a spin,
Ooh-la-la-la, c'est magnifique!
when every night
Your love one holds you tight,
Ooh-la-la-la, c'est magnifique!
But when, one day,
Ooh-la-la-la, it's so tragique!
But when, once more,
He whispers "Je t'adore!",
C'est magnifique!
When love comes in
And takes you for a spin,
Ooh-la-la-la, c'est magnifique!
when every night
Your love one holds you tight,
Ooh-la-la-la, c'est magnifique!
But when, one day,
Your ,love one drifts away,
Ooh-la-la-la, it's so tragique!
But when, once more,
He whispers "Je t'adore!",
C'est magnifique!
Yes when, once more,
He whispers "Je t'adore!",
C'est magnifique!
The lyrics of Eartha Kitt's song C'est Magnifique describe the highs and lows of being in love. The song speaks of the joy and excitement love can bring as depicted in the lines "When love comes in and takes you for a spin / Ooh-la-la-la, c'est magnifique!" and "when every night / Your love one holds you tight / Ooh-la-la-la, c'est magnifique!" These lines suggest that being in love can be a fantastic and exciting experience.
However, the song also acknowledges that love can have its downsides as depicted in the lines "But when, one day, / Your, love one drifts away, / Ooh-la-la-la, it's so tragique!" These lines suggest that heartbreak can be inevitable in a romantic relationship.
Despite the potential for heartbreak, the song ends on a positive note with the lines "But when, once more, / He whispers 'Je t'adore!' / C'est magnifique!" suggesting that the joy of being in love can outweigh any potential heartbreak.
Overall, the lyrics of C'est Magnifique affirm the idea that love can be a powerful and wonderful experience, even in the face of heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
When love comes in
When you fall in love
And takes you for a spin,
And makes you feel like you're on top of the world
Ooh-la-la-la, c'est magnifique!
Wow, it's fantastic!
When every night
When every evening
Your love one holds you tight,
Your beloved squeezes you lovingly
Ooh-la-la-la, c'est magnifique!
Wow, it's fantastic!
But when, one day,
But if one day,
Your love one drifts away,
Your beloved leaves you
Ooh-la-la-la, it's so tragique!
It's very sad and heartbreaking
But when, once more,
But if, once again,
He whispers 'Je t'adore!',
He says 'I love you!'
C'est magnifique!
It's fantastic!
When love comes in
When you fall in love
And takes you for a spin,
And makes you feel like you're on top of the world
Ooh-la-la-la, c'est magnifique!
Wow, it's fantastic!
When every night
When every evening
Your love one holds you tight,
Your beloved squeezes you lovingly
Ooh-la-la-la, c'est magnifique!
Wow, it's fantastic!
But when, one day,
But if one day,
Your love one drifts away,
Your beloved leaves you
Ooh-la-la-la, it's so tragique!
It's very sad and heartbreaking
But when, once more,
But if, once again,
He whispers 'Je t'adore!',
He says 'I love you!'
C'est magnifique!
It's fantastic!
Yes when, once more,
Indeed, if, once again,
He whispers 'Je t'adore!',
He says 'I love you!'
C'est magnifique!
It's fantastic!
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Cole Porter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
keenlyme
"C'est Magnifique"
When love comes in
And takes you for a spin,
Ooh-la-la-la, c'est magnifique!
when every night
Your love one holds you tight,
Ooh-la-la-la, c'est magnifique!
But when, one day,
Your ,love one drifts away,
Ooh-la-la-la, it's so tragique!
But when, once more,
He whispers "Je t'adore!",
C'est magnifique!
When love comes in
And takes you for a spin,
Ooh-la-la-la, c'est magnifique!
when every night
Your love one holds you tight,
Ooh-la-la-la, c'est magnifique!
But when, one day,
Your ,love one drifts away,
Ooh-la-la-la, it's so tragique!
But when, once more,
He whispers "Je t'adore!",
C'est magnifique!
Yes when, once more,
He whispers "Je t'adore!",
C'est magnifique!
David Walsh
When Eartha sings a song it has been well and truly sung. She sings with great humour and style. There was no one quite like her before or since. An amazing lady
ThePeerReview
All I ever wanted to be when I grew up.
She hooked me as Catwoman and never let go.
I can't remember when I wasn't dazzled by her...
mostly because she reminds me of Mother
I get the same vibe from people who knew them both, and wondered.
Simply adorable
PIERO
Song of the day. amazing tune, the best of the best,Rip, Eartha.
PTolai
Some of the comments about her pronunciation is rich.
News flash! This was her style. She spoke French. She knew about the "E" or "G" in 'Magnifique' Good Lord, these speech geniuses we have here.
As always, those that lack creativity or art also lack the skill to identify their ignorance.
Vanessa Valverde
OMG so well said!!!
Arlene Cerf
True ! always loved Earths - such a unique artist
Gr8tastes Forya
C’est truly magnificent Eartha!
En Ma
I saw Eartha live in London in 1990 and the love for her never will ending
irishsetterarchie
Again...my thanks for having posted this tribute to one I consider the DIVA!!!
Benedict Sinister
This song is included in Benedict Sinister’s Franglais Song Master List: https://www.benedictsinister.com/franglais-song-master-list
Check out Benedict Sinister’s own Franglais masterpiece, “Ne dramatise pas”: https://youtu.be/5Y_3Y4e9-WQ
It’s also mentioned is his essay “Franglais Rocks”: https://www.benedictsinister.com/franglais-rocks
It’s also included in a Benedict Sinister “Bilingual is Beautiful” Playlist: https://www.benedictsinister.com/bilingual-is-beautiful-play-lists