Kim Carnes teased us and uneased us with this precocious pop temptation. Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon co-wrote 'Bette Davis Eyes' in 1974 and DeShannon recorded a country version on her album 'New Arrangement'. When Carnes decided to record her version for her album 'Mistaken Identity', keyboardist Bill Cuomo came up with the evocative synthesizer riff using a state of the art Sequential Circuits Prophet-5. The song was recorded live in the studio in one take. The original lyrics of the song used the colloquialism "make a crow blush"; but no one was familiar with it and the lyrics were changed to "pro blush" for Carnes' version. It was a number one hit in thirty one countries around the world and spent nine weeks on top of the US chart, making it one of the biggest hits in the history of the pop chart. The music video was directed by Australian film director, Russell Mulcahy.
Her hair is hollow gold
Her lips sweet surprise
Her hands are never cold
She's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll turn the music on you
You won't have to think twice
She's pure as New York snow
She's 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's got Greta Garbo stand-off sighs
She's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll let you take her home (it whets her appetite)
She'll lay you on the throne
She's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll take a tumble on you
Roll you like you were dice until you come up blue
She's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll expose you when she snows you
Off your feet 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
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
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
She knows you
She's got Bette Davis eyes
'Mistaken Identity'
full album
"Bette Davis Eyes" (Donna Weiss, Jackie DeShannon) – 3:47
"Hit and Run" (Donna Weiss, Jackie DeShannon) – 3:17
"Mistaken Identity" (Kim Carnes) – 4:49
"When I'm Away from You" (Frankie Miller) – 3:36
"Draw of the Cards" (Kim Carnes, Dave Ellingson, Bill Cuomo, Val Garay) – 4:54
"Break the Rules Tonite (Out of School)" (Kim Carnes, Dave Ellingson, Wendy Waldman) – 3:17
"Still Hold On" (Kim Carnes, Eric Kaz, Dave Ellingson, Wendy Waldman) – 4:39
"Don't Call It Love" (Tom Snow, Dean Pitchford) – 3:09
"Miss You Tonight" (Kim Carnes) – 5:09
"My Old Pals" (Richard Stekol) – 3:19
