Polecats

Hey there.

I just finished editing a new video: Rose Cousins, Jennifer Kimball, Anne Heaton and I singing “lonesome polecat”, which is one of my favorite songs of all time. Here is the video:

In all the time I’ve known this song (from when I was a wee little girl), I did not know what a polecat was. I guess I always thought a Polecat was a kind of really street-wise cat. Oh my gosh it’s a weasel. Read the Wikipedia Entry on Polecats if you don’t believe me.

Here is a gorgeous picture of a polecat (I used this picture to make my polecat puppet):

So it’s originally in the musical “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” which I watched loads when I was young (I never would be saying “loads” if it weren’t for H.Potter). Anyway, the scene where “Lonesome Polecat” is sung used to send my mother and me into ecstasies. We just shoved the popcorn into our mouths and sighed for those axe-swinging, jazz-ballet dancing brothers. Here’s the original, courtesy of YouTube:

Also, a few years back, a boyfriend of mine put the Bobby Darin/Johnny Mathis version on a mixtape for me. It’s totally great, makes you want to get down on the carpeted floor and do a Bob Fosse Dance number. But I missed the melancholy melody on the “ooh” part…