It’s November, and for some people that’s when it’s time to bust out the Christmas music. But this year, one song will be getting a bit of a different tune. To combat accusations that the song “Baby It’s Cold Outside” is problematic because of what Vanity Fair describes as a “date-rapey choice,” the song is now getting some updated lyrics thanks to John Legend and Kelly Clarkson. It’s yet another example of the growing snowflake culture, pardon the pun.
“Baby It’s Cold Outside” is not a Christmas song nor is it a song about “date rape,” as some in our reactionary culture believe. The song was written by Frank Loesser and first performed with his wife during their housewarming party in New York City. The song features a duet between a man and a woman, with the woman trying to leave but the man trying to get her to stay by saying, in part, “Baby, it’s cold outside.” It was meant to encourage guests to leave the housewarming party. How times have changed.
The song was first removed from the radio last year by Canada’s CBC streaming service after social media pressure about the song’s lyrics. It’s ironic considering the harsh winter weather of Canada actually fits the setting of the song quite well. A station in Cleveland Ohio followed next and claims that it was influenced by the #MeToo movement. Other stations followed suit.
Luckily, in 2018 commonsense prevailed. CBC did reinstate the song, and it also rose to the top 10 of the Billboard charts with a 70% increase in downloads.
But this year, John Legend and Kelly Clarkson have announced a new version of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” with slightly more progressive lyrics. For example:
Changing the lyrics from this: “I really can’t stay (But baby it’s cold outside), I’ve gotta away (But baby it’s cold outside)”
To this: “I really can’t stay (Baby it’s cold outside), I’ve gotta go away (I can call you a ride).”
Legend’s other big change was from this: “My mother will start to worry (Beautiful, what’s your hurry), The neighbors might think (Baby it’s bad out there), Say what’s in this drink? (No cabs to be had out there)”
To this new progressive anthem: “My mother will start to worry (I’ll call a car and tell ‘em to hurry), What will my friends think (I think they should rejoice), If I have one more drink? (It’s your body and your choice)”
That just doesn’t have the same ring, not to mention that Legend removed the “Beautiful” description and now has include the abortion motto “It’s your body and your choice.” Is it really necessary to push an abortion slogan in this song from the 1940s? What is it even supposed to mean in that situation? I would say that if the progressive snowflakes are worried about the song encouraging date rape, I think a lyric like that would be more dangerous. What if she drinks to the point of being unable to give consent, what happens then? It’s unlikely that Legend’s new song will answer that questions.
At the end of the day, the lyrics to the song had a flirtatious but innocent nature. The song made its feature film debut in Neptune’s Daughter (1949). Watch a YouTube video of the song, done twice by two different couples in the movie, and it becomes apparent that our 21st century audience took the entire song wildly out of context. In one of the duets, the woman is actually singing the man’s part of the song and comically trying to get him to stay with her.
The lyric that perhaps should be changed in the song is one that references having “just a half a cigarette more.” Knowing as we do now the dangers of smoking, that phrase is probably the most problematic, but for a sensible reason.
In this snowflake culture, everything is offensive. From a Christmas song to a little girl’s bride Halloween costume, there is nothing seemingly that isn’t controversial. If some people are genuinely worried about the lack of consent in society, perhaps the best place to start is with eliminating pornography and not a timeless holiday song.