Eartha Kitt

Eartha Kitt died on Christmas day, 2008. As a child, I had a single of hers, Lazy Afternoon, that I used to play over and over again. It was all the only song of hers I knew, and I loved it.

Looking over her presence on the internet, songs like that get short shrift. Everyone seems very taken with her material girl sex kitten persona, and there's certainly no shortage of material to justify that.

In many of the clips on You Tube, her personality almost overwhelms the material.



That's one reason I like this clip, which is quieter and more reflective.



And this one, which shows again what a wonderful vocalist she was.



And because there are no clips that I can find, here are the lyrics to Lazy Afternoon.

It's a lazy afternoon
And the beetle bugs are zooming
And the tulip trees are blooming
And there's not another human in view,
But us two

It's a lazy afternoon
And the farmer leaves his reaping
And the meadow cows are sleeping
And the speckled trouts stop leaping up stream
As we dream

A far pink cloud hangs over the hill
Unfolding like a rose
If you hold my hand and sit real still,
You can hear the grass as it grows

It's a hazy afternoon
And I know a place that's quiet, 'cept for daisies running riot
And there's no one passing by it to see
Come spend this lazy afternoon with me