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 CafĂŠ 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.
Why Can't I?
Eartha Kitt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Heaving a heavenly sigh
Everybody has a someone
Why can't I?
Creeping to bed alone, resting my head alone
Only my pillow nearby
Some have a reason for dreaming
I feel forsaken on nights like this
Can't I awaken to someone's kiss?
Only my book in bed knows how I look in bed
Nobody hears when I cry
Everybody has a someone
Why can't I?
Feeling the way I do I'd like to say, "I do!"
Nature is hard to deny
Everybody has a someone
Why can't I?
Feeling the way I do, I'd like to say "I do!"
Nature is hard to deny
Everybody has a someone
Why can't I?
If love brings merriment, I must experiment
With some electrical guy
Even old maids find a burglar
Why can't I?
Should girls be good girls?
I think they should
I need a good man to make me be good
Two feet are ever cold
Four feet are never cold
I only mean to imply:
Everybody has someone
Why can't I?
Everybody needs someone
Why can't I?
Eartha Kitt's song "Why Can't I" speaks to the desire for companionship, and the loneliness that comes with not having it. The singer expresses her frustration with being alone, and longs to have someone by her side. She describes feeling forsaken and crying alone in bed, while others have someone to share their dreams with. She wonders why love seems to come so easily to others, but not to her. She even muses about the idea of experimenting with an "electrical guy" or hoping for a burglar to come her way, just for some kind of connection.
The lyrics are poignant and relatable, speaking to anyone who has ever felt lonely or left out. They also touch on societal expectations around love and companionship, with lines like "even old maids find a burglar" and "should girls be good girls? I think they should". There is a sense of pressure to find someone, and a feeling of inadequacy for not having done so.
At the same time, there is a sense of hope in the repetition of the line "everybody needs someone, why can't I?" The singer is not giving up on her desire for love and companionship, even in the face of loneliness and rejection. The song ends on a wistful note, with the singer wishing for someone to warm her cold feet.
Line by Line Meaning
Feeling the way I do, I'd like to say "I do!"
I am experiencing strong emotions and desire to express my love by getting married.
Heaving a heavenly sigh
I am feeling a deep sense of longing and sadness.
Everybody has a someone
Why can't I?
Everyone around me seems to have found a partner, but I am still alone and wondering why.
Creeping to bed alone, resting my head alone
Only my pillow nearby
I go to bed alone every night, and the only thing near me is my pillow.
Some have a reason for dreaming
Why can't I?
Some people have a purpose or goal that motivates them to dream, but I am unsure of mine.
I feel forsaken on nights like this
Can't I awaken to someone's kiss?
I feel abandoned and lonely, and I am hoping to wake up to a kiss from someone who loves me.
Only my book in bed knows how I look in bed
Nobody hears when I cry
I only have my book to keep me company in bed, and no one hears me cry myself to sleep.
Feeling the way I do I'd like to say, "I do!"
Nature is hard to deny
Everybody has a someone
Why can't I?
Given how I feel, I want to get married and start a family because it seems natural, and I cannot understand why everyone around me has someone but not me.
If love brings merriment, I must experiment
With some electrical guy
Even old maids find a burglar
Why can't I?
If love is supposed to make me happy, I may have to try dating someone unsuitable, like an electrician. Even single women get pursued by unwanted suitors, so why can't I find someone?
Should girls be good girls?
I think they should
I need a good man to make me be good
Women are expected to be virtuous, and I am hoping to find a good man who will inspire me to be a better person.
Two feet are ever cold
Four feet are never cold
I only mean to imply:
Everybody has someone
Why can't I?
My feet are cold because there is no one to warm them, and I mean to say that everyone seems to have a partner, but I don't.
Everybody needs someone
Why can't I?
Everyone needs a partner in life, but I am still without one and wondering why.
Lyrics Š Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HART, HINSON, TRIBBLE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Callista Diamonds
Question: Can anyone live with Eartha Kitt?
Thatâs not for me to decide.
Thatâs for someone who decides to live with me to decide.
Not for me.
Question: But are you willing to compromise within a relationship?
To compromise?
What is compromising?
Compromising for what?
Compromising for what reason?
To compromise?
For what!
To compromise, what is compromise?
Question: If a man came into your life, wouldnât you want to compromise?
(laughing hysterically, incredulous)
Stupid.
A man comes into my life, and I have to compromise?
You must think about that one again.
(laughing hysterically)
A man comes into my life, and you have to compromise?
For what? For what? For what?
A relationship is a relationship that has to be earned.
Not to compromise for.
And I love relationships, I think they are fantastic.
They are wonderful, I think they are great.
I think thereâs nothing in the world more beautiful than falling in love.
But falling in love for the right reason.
Falling in love for the right purpose.
Falling in love.
Falling in love.
When you fall in loveâŚ
What is there to compromise about?
Question: Isnât love a union between two people? Or does Ertha fall in love with herself.
I think, if you were to think about it⌠in terms of analyzing.
(Pause)
Yes.
I fall in love with myself.
And I want someone to share it with me.
I want someone to share me, with me.
Question: Has that happened?
Many times.
In many ways.
#FACTS #2021GOALS
godforsaken7
So my girlfriend and I had an interesting debate based off this video. The whole idea that compromise doesn't exist or it's a bad thing.
From what I gathered from her standpoint, and some of the comments in the video. No one should compromise themselves when being in a relationship. A person enters their life by their choice, and the goal is to share in the 'love of me'. She ended her video with the powerful quote, "Yes, I fall in love with myself, and I want someone else to share it with me."
Great advice honestly, people DO need to love themselves before loving anyone else, there SHOULDN'T be any compromise. HOWEVER, the basis of this concept can be interpreted in many ways, in fact in my case I said it would leave no room for 'the one' or long-term relationships; just temporary experiences with great partners, because if they aren't willing to consider the love of someone else because they hold their own love as priority, those partners will eventually leave. It makes the idea of compromise as a negative annotation.
HOWEVER, the underlying question that people tend to dismiss that I had to rephrase to make sense is this: What are you sharing if if the love YOU built for yourself was in essence, meant for yourself?
No one person is the same, compatibility requires humility, which contradicts not compromising, which contradicts the âlove yourselfâ factor.
Itâs like being perfect, what can you âimproveâ if youâre already perfect? There is no growth because you are already there.
Therefore, what love can you give that is not meant for anyone but you? Youâre offering the âexperienceâ of being with you, but not the âgrowthâ of love for âEACH OTHERâ.
Whether you love yourself or still âworking thatâ piece; involving someone else still requires growth because of the differences between the two people.
It still requires humility, consideration, faith, all factors involving compromise.
They're right, compromise means changing who you are. But the change is to grow a love for TWO, not just YOU. Itâs only negative when the compromise creates a worse version of yourself.
âA relationship is meant to enhance each otherâ was what my girlfriend use to say earlier in our relationship, and she's right. But to me it means we create a love meant for the two of us to share because WE created it; not because you created your own and want to share the experience.
kenta falls
The ambiance of this interview is so chill. You can hear the wind, the dog barking; it's just very homey.
DJ CatsaNova
Doll Face do you know if it was filmed in Paris? It gives me Paris vibes
timmy841212
@DJ CatsaNova It was filmed there. I think this came out in 78 or 79.
DJ CatsaNova
timmy841212 thank you, sir đźđđž
Ave LWH
Especially when she yells "Bye Wayland!"đ & he yells back "Bye!"đđ, "bye!" đđđĽ°đ
LOVE IT!đđđ and the outro piano at the end... đš đśđ¤
L. Hill
"I fall in love with myself....and I want someone to share ME with me." Perfect explanation!!!
DonDDonDon
Perfect!
Bar_Bar
Narcissism
Raye Johnson
This "narcissism" word is stupid and overused. She is not a narcissist she just has common sense. She is correct, compromise for what? If you met someone the way they are, why is it as soon as you get into a relationship with them, there is all of a sudden a need for compromise? People who often want someone to "compromise" don't ever do the same for that person. And most times it's not even compromising, it's just one person trying to control the other. Someone is always a narcissist to you people because they're not willing to throw their lives out for someone else's benefit.
L. Hill
You better say that!!! Nobody should have to worry about changing themselves to please someone else. I really felt this Capricorn energy she was giving and Iâm not changing!!! #Compromiseforwhat