Tonight’s singer had one of the most unusual voices of the twentieth century: a purr, like a cat. In this song she says she’s tired of being good. She wants to be wicked, just for once.
Learn from Songs · Festivals: Halloween · Part 4 of 4 · B1
I Want to Be Evil
Eartha Kitt’s purring, playful song about a good girl who’s tired of being good: want to / would like to / feel like + -ing, be tired of + -ing, as… as can be, and how comedy lets us play the villain, with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria.
SOPHIA
MARCOS
Me too!
SOPHIA
Of course you do, Marcos. But listen: she’s joking. It’s a comic song, a game, like an actor playing a villain. Perfect for Halloween, when everyone dresses up as something they are not.
PHILO
Playing a villain isn’t being one.
Before you listen: the song
New York, 1953
Eartha Kitt (1927–2008) was born on a cotton farm in South Carolina and grew up very poor. She became a dancer, then a singer and actress who performed in many languages around the world. Orson Welles once called her “the most exciting woman in the world”.
In 1953 she recorded “I Want to Be Evil”, and the same year she sang the playful Christmas song “Santa Baby”. In the 1960s she played Catwoman in the Batman television series, and much later, in 2000, she was the voice of the wicked Yzma in Disney’s The Emperor’s New Groove. She loved playing villains.
In the song, a girl who has always been polite and proper says she is tired of being good. She wants to be as wicked as can be. Of course, she is smiling as she sings it.
Playing a villain isn’t being one.
Listen: the good girl
PHILO
Listen once. What is she tired of? What would she like to be? Is she serious?
SOPHIA
Listen to her purring voice. Then answer Section A.
🐈⬛ Listen to the song: “I Want to Be Evil” (1953), sung by Eartha Kitt.Find the recording →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “I Want to Be Evil”, Eartha Kitt.Read the lyrics →
Want to, would like to, feel like
MARCOS
I want to be evil. I’d like to wear black. I feel like dancing.
SOPHIA
want to + infinitive (direct), would like to + infinitive (polite), feel like + -ing (informal, about now): I feel like going out tonight.
Be tired of + -ing
DEMETRIA
She’s tired of being good. I’m tired of waiting. He’s fed up with doing homework.
SOPHIA
be tired of / fed up with / sick of + -ing = bored or annoyed by something that continues. Compare tired (needs sleep) and tired of (bored).
As… as can be
PHILO
She wants to be as bad as can be. The night was as dark as can be.
SOPHIA
as + adjective + as can be = extremely: He’s as happy as can be. Also as… as possible: Come as soon as possible.
Sophia’s comparison: the comic stage and Purim
SOPHIA
In the comedies of Aristophanes, actors put on masks and play cowards, cheats and fools, and the audience roars with laughter. Nobody thinks the actor is really a cheat. Comedy lets us look at wickedness safely, and laugh at it.
PHILO
And at Purim we read the scroll of Esther, and every time the name of wicked Haman is read, everyone makes as much noise as possible to blot it out. The villain is part of the fun, so that we can cheer when he falls.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| want to / would like to + infinitive | wishes, direct and polite | I’d like to try. |
| feel like + -ing | informal wish, now | I feel like dancing. |
| be tired of / fed up with + -ing | bored, annoyed | She’s tired of being good. |
| as + adjective + as can be | extremely | as wicked as can be |
| as… as possible | as much as you can | as soon as possible |
Practice
Listen to the song for Section A, then do the rest. Press “Check my answers” at the end. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Listen: the song
Listen to the song and choose the best answer.
1. What is the singer tired of?
2. Is she serious?
3. What was special about Eartha Kitt’s voice?
4. Which villain did she play on television?
5. Which Christmas song did she sing in 1953?
6. Where was she born?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. She’s tired being good.
8. I’d like try it. (polite)
9. I feel like tonight. (dance)
10. She wants to be as wicked as be.
11. Come as soon as .
12. He’s fed up doing homework.
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “I’m tired of to wait.”
14. “I feel like going out tonight.”
15. “I would like go home.”
16. “She was as happy as can be.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Play the villain. In groups, plan a short comic scene for a Halloween party in which everyone plays the opposite of their real character. Use want to, would like to, tired of and as… as can be.
Discuss. 1. Why do actors enjoy playing villains? 2. Why do people like dressing up at Halloween or carnival? 3. What are you tired of, and what do you feel like doing?
Write (80–100 words). Tired of being good. Write a funny paragraph from the point of view of a very good child (or dog!) who wants to be naughty for one day. Use the target language.
Now play the gamebook: the shyest girl in school, and the villain’s part.Play the gamebook →