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.
Hesitating Blues
Eartha Kitt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wanna talk to that sweet man of mine
Tell me how long will I have to wait?
Please give me two nine eight, why do you hesitate?
What do you say, can't talk to my man?
A storm last night blowed the wire all down
Tell me how long will I have to wait?
Procrastination is the thief of time
So all the wise owls say
One stitch in time may save nine
Tomorrow's not today
And if you put off, someone's bound to
Sunday night, my beau proposed to me
Said he'd be happy if his wife I'd be
Oh, how long will I have to wait?
Come be my wife, my Kate, why do you hesitate?
Well I declined him, just for a stall
He left that night on the Cannonball
Oh, how long will I have to wait?
Will he come back now or will he hesitate?
I'd be his, he'd be mine and I'd be feelin' gay
Left alone, grieve and pine, my best friend's gone away
He's gone and left me the hesitating blues
The hesitating blues, those hesitating blues
The lyrics of Eartha Kitt's song Hesitating Blues is about a woman's longing to talk to her lover or to be with him. The first line, "Hello Central, what's the matter with this line?" is an indication of the woman's impatience over waiting for her lover's call. She asks, "Tell me how long will I have to wait? Please give me two nine eight, why do you hesitate?" which shows how much she wants to hear from him. However, the operator tells her that a storm blew the wire down and that she cannot talk to him. She wonders if he will come back or not.
Then, the woman reflects on how procrastination is the thief of time and that tomorrow's not today, implying that her lover may be procrastinating or delaying something. She thinks back to when he proposed to her and says how happy he would be if she were to marry him. She declined him, just for a stall, and he left on Cannonball. She asks again how long will she have to wait and if he will come back or hesitate.
Overall, the lyrics showcase the woman's impatience, her longing for her lover, her thoughts on procrastination, and her worries of whether he will come back or not.
Line by Line Meaning
Hello Central, what's the matter with this line?
Asking operator to check why the phone line to her man is not connecting.
I wanna talk to that sweet man of mine
Expressing desire to communicate with her sweetheart.
Tell me how long will I have to wait?
Asking for information regarding the time she has to spend waiting for her man.
Please give me two nine eight, why do you hesitate?
Asking the operator to give her the phone number and enquiring the reason for the delay.
What do you say, can't talk to my man?
Confirming with the operator if she is unable to speak with her partner.
A storm last night blowed the wire all down
Informing the cause of the line disruption to be the storm that had passed last night.
Will he come back now or will he hesitate?
Enquiring if he will return or continue to delay his arrival.
Procrastination is the thief of time
Stating a popular saying that implies delaying or procrastinating wastes time.
So all the wise owls say
Referring to wise individuals who advise against procrastination.
One stitch in time may save nine
Referring to another saying that implies addressing issues early would prevent greater problems later.
Tomorrow's not today
Emphasizing the need to act promptly and not delay actions till a later date.
And if you put off, someone's bound to
Highlighting the potential negative consequences of procrastination on the outcome of a situation.
Sunday night, my beau proposed to me
Narrating the time her partner proposed to her on a Sunday.
Said he'd be happy if his wife I'd be
Stating her partner's happiness if she agreed to be his wife.
Come be my wife, my Kate, why do you hesitate?
Requesting her to be his wife and enquiring the cause of her delay in response.
Well I declined him, just for a stall
Admitting to rejecting her partner's proposal just to delay the decision.
He left that night on the Cannonball
Stating her partner left her that same night.
I'd be his, he'd be mine and I'd be feelin' gay
Imagining a scenario where she agreed to be his wife and felt happy and blissful.
Left alone, grieve and pine, my best friend's gone away
Describing a state of loneliness, grief, and longing for her departed partner.
He's gone and left me the hesitating blues
Expressing her emotional pain and despair due to his departure and her reluctance to accept his proposal.
The hesitating blues, those hesitating blues
Repeating the title of the song as a lament for her hesitancy and the resultant loss of her partner.
Contributed by Adam S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.