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I Want To Be Evil Lyrics
I've posed for pictures with Iv'ry Soap
I've petted stray dogs, and shied clear of dope
My smile is brilliant, my glance is tender
But I'm noted most for my unspoiled gender
I've been made Miss Reingold, though I never touch beer
And I'm the person to whom they say, "You're sweet, my dear,"
The only etchings I've seen have been behind glass
And the closest I've been to a bar is at ballet class
Prim and proper, the girl who's never been cased
I'm tired of being pure and not chased
Like something that seeks it's level
I want to go to the devil
I want to be evil, I want to spit tacks
I want to be evil and cheat at jacks
I want to be wicked, I want to tell lies
I want to be mean and throw mud pies
I want to wake up in the morning
with that dark brown taste
I want to see some dissipation in my face
I want to be evil, I want to be mad
but more than that, I want to be bad
I want to be evil and trump an ace
just to see my partner's face
I want to be nasty, I want to be cruel
I want to be daring, I want to shoot pool
and in the theatre, I want to change my seat
just so I can step on everybody's feet
I want to be evil, I want to hurt flies
I want to sing songs like the guy who cries
I want to be horrid, I want to drink booze
and whatever I've got, I'm eager to lose
I want to be evil, little evil me
just as mean and evil as I can be!
I've petted stray dogs, and shied clear of dope
My smile is brilliant, my glance is tender
But I'm noted most for my unspoiled gender
And I'm the person to whom they say, "You're sweet, my dear,"
The only etchings I've seen have been behind glass
And the closest I've been to a bar is at ballet class
I'm tired of being pure and not chased
Like something that seeks it's level
I want to go to the devil
I want to be evil and cheat at jacks
I want to be wicked, I want to tell lies
I want to be mean and throw mud pies
with that dark brown taste
I want to see some dissipation in my face
I want to be evil, I want to be mad
but more than that, I want to be bad
just to see my partner's face
I want to be nasty, I want to be cruel
I want to be daring, I want to shoot pool
just so I can step on everybody's feet
I want to sing songs like the guy who cries
I want to be horrid, I want to drink booze
and whatever I've got, I'm eager to lose
just as mean and evil as I can be!
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It's interesting what passed for evil in the 1950s when this song came out. Like cheating at jacks, playing pool, trumping an ace, so on. It's hard to tell if Eartha is being facetious here. Regardless, the rhymes are great.
Science wrote " It's hard to tell if Eartha is being facetious here" I'm not a mindreader but I think it is very clear that it was a joke (and a really good one). She is so nice and pure that even when she tries to imagine being evil, this is the worst she can come up with. I love this song so much.
Science wrote " It's hard to tell if Eartha is being facetious here" I'm not a mindreader but I think it is very clear that it was a joke (and a really good one). She is so nice and pure that even when she tries to imagine being evil, this is the worst she can come up with. I love this song so much.
Anyone know what this line is talking about? "I want to sing songs like the guy who cries"
Sounds like a topical reference, but it would be something from the early 50s at the latest. I don't think it's about John Boehner!
@bulgie Came here to check this. I'm pretty sure it's referring to Johnny Ray.
@bulgie Came here to check this. I'm pretty sure it's referring to Johnny Ray.
@qzl Thanks I bet you're right.
"Cry" by Johnnie Ray & The Four Lads (1951) Sample lyric: "So let your hair down and go on baby and cry (cry, and cry)"
"I Want to Be Evil" was released in '53, so that Johnnie Ray hit would have been familiar to the people hearing Eartha's song. Though there's nothing evil about "Cry", so I think that line might be there mostly because it rhymes... Or am I still missing something? (It's been known to happen.)