The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Her hair is Harlow gold
Her lips a sweet surprise
Her hands are never cold
She's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll turn her music on you
You won't have to think twice
She's pure as New York snow
She got Bette Davis eyes
And she'll tease you, she'll unease you
All the better just to please you
She's precocious, and she knows just what it
Takes to make a pro blush
She got Greta Garbo's standoff sighs, she's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll let you take her home
It whets her appetite
She'll lay you on a throne
She got Bette Davis eyes
She'll take a tumble on you
Roll you like you were dice
Until you come out blue
She's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll expose you, when she snows you
Offer feed with the crumbs she throws you
She's ferocious and she knows just what it
Takes to make a pro blush
All the boys think she's a spy, she's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll tease you, she'll unease you
All the better just to please you
She's precocious, and she knows just what it
Takes to make a pro blush
All the boys think she's a spy, she's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll tease you
She'll unease you
Just to please you
She's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll expose you
When she snows you
'Cause she knows you, she's got Bette Davis Eyes
She'll tease you
Her lips a sweet surprise
Her hands are never cold
She's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll turn her music on you
You won't have to think twice
She's pure as New York snow
She got Bette Davis eyes
And she'll tease you, she'll unease you
All the better just to please you
She's precocious, and she knows just what it
Takes to make a pro blush
She got Greta Garbo's standoff sighs, she's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll let you take her home
It whets her appetite
She'll lay you on a throne
She got Bette Davis eyes
She'll take a tumble on you
Roll you like you were dice
Until you come out blue
She's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll expose you, when she snows you
Offer feed with the crumbs she throws you
She's ferocious and she knows just what it
Takes to make a pro blush
All the boys think she's a spy, she's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll tease you, she'll unease you
All the better just to please you
She's precocious, and she knows just what it
Takes to make a pro blush
All the boys think she's a spy, she's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll tease you
She'll unease you
Just to please you
She's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll expose you
When she snows you
'Cause she knows you, she's got Bette Davis Eyes
She'll tease you
Lyrics submitted by numb, edited by LeMarkyDussod
Bette Davis Eyes Lyrics as written by Jackie De Shannon Donna Weiss
Lyrics © KAREN SCHAUBEN PUBLISHING ADMINISTRATION
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The song is a description of a young femme fatale, plain and simple. She's an enticing, promiscuous woman who makes prospective partners work for it, but has all the charms it takes to make them put that effort in. Still she moves on once she's made her conquest. It would be over-stating it to call her "evil" though. All the song says she does to the men she entices is make them sad she doesn't stay.
It might be significant that Harlow gold sounds almost like "hollow gold". Maybe not though. Harlow played a lot of femme's fatale. I don't think the song is about Marilyn Monroe rather than an imaginary woman. Monroe's on-screen presence wasn't mysterious and film noiresque and the woman in this song has nothing of the woman-child about her.
It's less than that. It's more specific. It's about the embrace of both the femme fatale you elude to as well as the specific figure, in the tint of kim carnes, specifically. your generalization is not wrong per se, but way off.<br /> This is about an artists' embrace and expression of an iconic figure. It's well done by human standards.
This is also one of my favorites. To keep it short, it was written in dedication to Bette Davis and the latter stated she was truly flattered by the song and was grateful to Carnes for the tribute (or so I've read).
It captures the essence of an angel-faced temptress who appears "pure as NY snow" and lures men in with her wit and charm, but as they are drinking into her passion, she is studying them closely and exposing their weaknesses...Eventually, just when they are transfixed into her seductive games, she uses these weaknesses against them, "rolls them like dice", and when she gets what she wants from them...leaves them hoping they are pleased with the crumbs of her affection; a take-no-prisoner seductress.
@elusive12 YOU GOT IT PRETTY MUCH RIGHT
While many people want to see a hidden drug meaning in the song, it's not there and a far stretch. It is about a calculating woman who uses sex as a weapon. And the song was not written by two men as a couple commenters said, it was written in 1974 by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon, both females, and originally recorded as a light jazz song by DeShannon on her 1975 album.
It is an homage to the femme fatale.
"She's precocious": As in outrageously brash and often used to describe a female sexually back in the day. Sexually precocious meant experienced and promiscuous.
"Tease you, unease, all the better just to please you.": To get want she wants.
"Make a pro blush": In the 70s and 80s calling a woman a Pro implied she was a sexual pro, meaning professional, as in the wold's oldest profession. Carnes is basically saying "She could make a hooker blush." Interesting fact, DeShannon's original lyric was "make a crow blush" which was a dated backwoods expression. It basically meant the same thing but without the sexual connotation. Carnes changed it in her recording.
"Pure as New York snow" has nothing to do with cocaine or meth. It is irony. New York snow, unlike in the country, is trampled on until it becomes sludge. Meaning, she is not pure at all.
@Endymion2013 <br /> <br /> I was going to add a comment about the 'New York Snow' line but you nailed it.<br /> <br /> Definitely a reference to NY the city. The snow is grimy, grey and dirty and the line is pure sarcasm.
@Endymion2013 <br /> The correct line is "Make a Crow blush"...a common southern saying but it was misinterpreted for kim's cover of the song
@Endymion2013 BIG NEWS DESHANNON WROTE THE MUSIC NOT THE WORDS GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT. DONNA WEISS WROTE THE LYRICS TO BETTE DAVIS EYES. JACKIE'S RECORDING IS OF THE CORRECT LYRIC "WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE A PRO BLUSH" CROWS HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS SONG AS MANY IDIOTS HAVE MISTAKENLY BLATHERED.
@Endymion2013 The bit about New York snow also reminds me of the quip used by Mae West (though versions of it pre-existed her remark): "I used to be Snow White, but I drifted."
I used to think this was sung by Rod Stewart. Actually, the All Music Guide describes Ms. Carnes' voice as being like Mr. Stewarts. So I guess I can't be blamed.
WOW... I guess i should get busy submiting the REAL Kim Carnes stuff...
To me, this is about an intelligent, sexually liberated woman who knows what she wants.
This song is about a woman who can see through people; she has Bette Davis's eyes. It's a metaphor for the power in the woman like the power in Bette Davis's eyes. Bette Davis took command of the entire screen, and was monumental. This song is about how a woman is like that. This woman uses that power; assests that Bette Davis very much used.
this is one of my favorite songs. I get a bitter sweet feeling everytime I listen to it. I think it's about a person that always plays tricks on the other one. Like some kind of game. Maybe it's a woman singing about the woman that plays tricks on him all the time and she's saying that "you'll never get anything from her so why don't you take me instead?" Or what do you think?
this song is amazing, definately one of my favorites
Clearly, it's about Estella Havisham from Great Expectations by Charles "Chuck" Dickens.