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.
Nobody Taught Me
Eartha Kitt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was walking and talking at six weeks old
Nobody taught me. I figured it out for myself.
Well, you never get nowhere counting on somebody else
When I was in first grade just a week
I gave the other kiddies a course in Greek
Explaining the theories of Sigmund Freud
Nobody taught me. I figured it out for myself.
When I found out what I could mean to men
My education started all over again
It really doesn't matter if you rich or poor
Just a millionaire who loves you can make you feel secure
Nobody taught me. I figured it out for myself.
I landed in Las Vegas
Broke the bank three times
I went to hire Liyah
Had the boogies bumming dimes
Nobody taught me. I figured it out for myself.
Well, you never get nowhere counting on someone else.
I was sued by J. P. Morgan for control of the Bank
Awarded me the verdict
I had just myself at the bank
The case was rounded up quick
As the Judge could plainly see
And you call it self defense
Because the law, yo was mean
Nobody taught me. I figured it out for myself.
Well, you never get nowhere counting on someone else.
I said you never get nowhere counting on someone else.
Tennis anyone?
The song "Nobody Taught Me" by Eartha Kitt is a tale of a self-reliant and self-made individual. The lyrics recount her life journey from her infancy to adulthood, highlighting how she figured things out on her own from the very beginning. It's a reflection on the importance of self-sufficiency and taking responsibility for oneself. The first line, "When I was a baby so I've been told, I was walking and talking at six weeks old," sets the tone for the rest of the song. She's already defying expectations and relying on her own instincts from an early age.
Throughout the song, Kitt describes how she excelled academically, even from a young age, and understood complex concepts like Greek and Freudian psychology. Her education didn't stop there, though. She also learned about men and relationships, discovering that "It really doesn't matter if you rich or poor, just a millionaire who loves you can make you feel secure." Her experiences also included making and losing money in Las Vegas and even being sued by J. P. Morgan. However, she resolved it all on her own, showing the importance of taking control of one's own life.
The song's overall message is one of empowerment and self-reliance. Eartha Kitt's lyrics suggest that nobody else can teach you what you need to know in life, and it's up to individuals to take responsibility for themselves and figure things out on their own. It's a reminder that, while others may offer guidance and support, one's success ultimately lies in their own hands.
Line by Line Meaning
When I was a baby so I've been told
According to hearsay, when I was a baby
I was walking and talking at six weeks old
I had started walking and talking when I was six weeks old
Nobody taught me. I figured it out for myself.
I learned through self-discovery and didn't rely on others to teach me
Well, you never get nowhere counting on somebody else
You can't achieve anything counting on others
When I was in first grade just a week
Within a week of starting first grade
I gave the other kiddies a course in Greek
I taught the other children in my class about Greek language and culture
At sweet sixteen I was busily employed
When I was sixteen years old, I was already working
Explaining the theories of Sigmund Freud
I was teaching about the concepts and ideas developed by Sigmund Freud
When I found out what I could mean to men
When I realized the power I had over men
My education started all over again
I gained a new understanding and knowledge of the world
It really doesn't matter if you rich or poor
Your wealth status is not important
Just a millionaire who loves you can make you feel secure
Feeling secure can come from being loved by a millionaire
I landed in Las Vegas
I arrived in Las Vegas
Broke the bank three times
I won big at the casino on three separate occasions
I went to hire Liyah
I went to employ someone named Liyah
Had the boogies bumming dimes
I had the band playing music that made people dance and tip them dimes
I was sued by J. P. Morgan for control of the Bank
J.P. Morgan sued me to take control of the bank
Awarded me the verdict
I was declared the winner in court
I had just myself at the bank
I was the only one representing myself in the trial
The case was rounded up quick
The case was quickly resolved
As the Judge could plainly see
The Judge clearly understood the case
And you call it self defense
Some might call it self defense
Because the law, yo was mean
Because the law can be unfairly strict
Tennis anyone?
Asking if anyone wants to play tennis
Contributed by Jason W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@alain59200
very nice track thank Alessandro
@MissKatieJaneRigglar
When I was a baby so I’ve been told
I was walking and talking at six weeks old
Nobody taught me. I figured it out for myself.
Well, you never get nowhere counting on somebody else.
When I was in first grade just a week
I gave the other kiddies a course in Greek
At sweet sixteen I was busily employed
Explaining the theories of Sigmund Freud
Nobody taught me. I figured it out for myself.
When I found out what I could mean to men
My education started all over again
It really doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor
Just a millionaire who loves you can make you feel secure
Nobody taught me. I figured it out for myself.
I landed in Las Vegas
Broke the bank three times
I went to hire Liyah
Had the boogies bumming dimes
Nobody taught me. I figured it out for myself.
Well, you never get nowhere counting on somebody else.
I was sued by J.P. Morgan for control of the Bank
Awarded me the verdict
I had just myself at the bank
The case was rounded up quick
As the Judge could plainly see
And you call it self defence
Because the law, you was mean
Nobody taught me. I figured it out for myself.
Well, you never get nowhere counting on somebody else.
I said you never get nowhere counting on somebody else.
Tennis anyone?
@marksawchuk6668
@Alessandro Sciarra. I have the lyrics of the song below. Thanks for posting the song.
When I was a baby so I’ve been told
I was walking and talking at six weeks old
Nobody taught me. I figured it out for myself.
Well, you never get nowhere counting on somebody else
When I was in first grade just a week
I gave the other kiddies a course in Greek
At sweet sixteen I was busily employed
Explaining the theories of Sigmund Freud
Nobody taught me. I figured it out for myself.
When I found out what I could mean to men
My education started all over again
It really doesn’t matter if you rich or poor
Just a millionaire who loves you can make you feel secure
Nobody taught me. I figured it out for myself.
I landed in Las Vegas
Broke the bank three times
I went to hire Liyah
Had the boogies bumming dimes
Nobody taught me. I figured it out for myself.
Well, you never get nowhere counting on someone else.
I was sued by J. P. Morgan for control of the Bank
Awarded me the verdict
I had just myself at the bank
The case was rounded up quick
As the Judge could plainly see
And you call it self defense
Because the law, yo was mean
Nobody taught me. I figured it out for myself.
Well, you never get nowhere counting on someone else.
I said you never get nowhere counting on someone else.
Tennis anyone?
@ntnrocket1
Thank you for posting the lyrics on the clean recording. May I make a correction, "I went to Hialeah (horse track in FL), had the BOOKIES bumming dimes."