There are some holiday songs that haven’t aged particularly well, like “Santa Baby,” which is apparently about a toddler woman who is very horny for Santa; or “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” about a nosy kid who narcs on his mom; and “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” which paints Santa as a creepy old dude who watches you while you’re sleeping. And then there’s the most infamous offender of all: “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” about a man who refuses to let a woman leave his house and go the fuck home. In the 75 years since it was first written by Frank Loesser, the festive track has been performed and recorded by various duos, including Ricardo Montalbán and Esther Williams, Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett, and Cee Lo Green and Christina Aguilera. There’s a version of this song for everyone—unless you don’t enjoy songs about a woman being held hostage by some guy who may or may not have drugged her adult beverage, wink wink. In this post-#MeToo world, who will give us a version of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” that honors the festive tone of the song while respecting a woman’s bodily autonomy and removing any veiled references to roofies? Who will forsake the very idea of context? Who will make “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” safe for our children?!
According to The New York Times, Kelly Clarkson and John Legend have taken this most righteous burden upon themselves, with the help of Insecure’s Natasha Rothwell. Legend and Rothwell co-wrote the new, not-rapey version of the Christmas classic for Legend’s upcoming holiday album A Legendary Christmas: The Deluxe Edition. In the new iteration of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” when Clarkson sings “I’ve got to go away,” Legend chivalrously replies with “I can call you a ride,” and it goes on:
“What will my friends think,” Clarkson sings.
“I think they should rejoice,” Legend replies.
“If I have one more drink?” she continues.
“It’s your body, and your choice,” he sings.
Oh.
So while this is definitely a new cover of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” it’s not necessarily “improved,” per se. It’s definitely the sort of Christmas song you might find playing in the home of a man who owns at least one fedora and constantly reminds you what a good ally he is to women, completely oblivious to the fact that he is centering himself in issues that are very specifically not about him, which is obnoxious and offensive in its own way—but hey, did you know that he’s seen Nanette three times?
Listen, if you find the original version a little too icky, that’s fine; as John “M’lady” Legend says, “it’s your body, and your choice.” But this is also exactly why it’s okay to pretend like this version never happened.
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It’s not even fucking Halloween yet.
Fucking Halloween or fucking Halloween? Fucking Halloween is 2 days away, but fucking Halloween is tomorrow.
It’s the time of the year for people to ignore context and dump on a sweet song again, woot!
Everything you ever liked is bad and you are bad for ever liking it.
Fuck you SJWs! This song ain’t for you. Go remake I am woman hear me roar and leave this song to the real men.
Consarn these kids for ruining all our rapey songs! Consarn ‘em!
The snarky tone of this article in it’s active dismissal of context is just so damn infuriating.
Britt is so snarky and dismissive about everything in every single piece she publishes that I honestly have no idea what’s jokey, what’s serious or if she likes anything at all.
I’m so excited! I thought I was going to have to wait until at least mid-November to see any!
Christmas starts earlier every year!
Context is for cowards. Rejoice in our condescending judgement
It’s awesome, in another thread there’s this guy insulting me because I dared to point out that context is a thing that people should consider before making judgements about stuff. People are REALLY invested in stroking their internet outrage hardons lol
Bad song and also bad review. We don’t need a rehabilitating remake of Song of the South and we don’t need this.
I do look forward to the day when men expressing interest in feminism isn’t received as gross, though.
Er…this is nothing like Song of the South. I mean it’s a terrible song, but it’s not about raping people and it never has been
Might have been an extreme reaction. Perhaps a better one is “Summer Nights” (which also sucks). My point is that some things worked in the past and had crappy elements. We don’t need to “rescue” every flawed old thing. Appreciate it in its context, or don’t.
I’m eagerly awaiting this year’s version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed LED-compliant Reindeer, Frosty the temperature-challenged Man, and the John Cage version of Silent Night that lasts four minutes and 33 seconds in length.
I want the Luke Cage version where it’s a minute of him beating up bad guys and ends with ‘Where’s my money, honey?’
“I’m dreaming, of a Sweet Christmas…”
actually the point of 4’33” is to contemplate the aleatoric ambient sounds that arise in the space created by that silence*gets beat up**drops lunch money*
That other reindeer, Olive, was such an asshole!
JOHN LEGEND IS AT LEAST TOP 20 CORNY NEGROES OF AMERICAWHO YOU GOT WITH HIM?
Michael Strahan’s daytime stuff.
I’ll be honest, I had to read this twice before I realized it was mostly satire.
The top half, yes. The bottom half seems like it’s just straight snark.
how dare you..that snark could be fluid.
WELL DONE. HO. HO. HO.
What if they made an even more problematic version?
Then it actually might be intriguing in some fashion.
“Baby It’s Cold Outside (Because Global Warming is a Hoax Invented by the Jewish Conspiracy)”.
Then they’d be Disney.
So they removed the fisting reference?
They didn’t remove it, they just made the fisting consensual.
Man, it’s starting to feel like Christmas in here!
What’s next? Will they sanitise the clear tea-bagging analogy in “Deck the Halls”?
“It’s definitely the sort of Christmas song you might find playing in the home of a man who owns at least one fedora and constantly reminds you what a good ally he is to women, completely oblivious to the fact that he is centering himself in issues that are very specifically not about him, which is obnoxious and offensive in its own way—but hey, did you know that he’s seen Nanette three times?”
…So in other words, it’s pandering towards the exact same demographic this site has been ever since Univision sunk its claws into it? Careful, don’t bite the hand that feeds you guys ramen five nights a week!
I didn’t think its possible to roll my eyes as hard as I just did.If you are genuinely insulted by this classic song – I request you go get a life and stop listening to all music. Not because you may or may not be “right”. You had literally your entire life to realize the problems with this song but had to be a sheep and wait until others told you and then felt a desperate need to spread the gospel, just to prove how “enlightened” you are. You are not. You are a pathetic human being, desperate for attention and approval. Neither will be found here. Go take your fake wokeness and waste it in a hole somewhere so only to inflict it on yourself.
This article was satirizing the need for a cleaned up version, but okay.
i prefer jamie foxx’s versionBlame it on the booze
Got you feeling loose
Blame it on ‘tron
Got you in the zone
Blame it on the a a a a a alcohol
Blame it on the a a a a a a alcoholHey she say she usually don’t
But I know that she front
‘Cause shawty know what she want
But she don’t wanna seem like she easy
I hear you saying what ya wont do
But you know we probably goin’ do
What you been feigning deep inside
Don’t lie now
Or just play/sing “Let It Snow”, which is the same basic concept without the bits that people aren’t super fond of.
Apparently nobody told you that “Let It Snow “ is a song about angry men ejaculating in the air.In other words, it’s offensive and problematic af.
““I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” about a nosy kid who narcs on his mom”You missed the joke in the song.
You mean Atonement wasn’t based on that song?
I want to read the novel version of your concept.
The movie is better. The long take of the sleigh leaving the North Pole is amazing. We could only shoot it twice because the cameraman died of hypothermia on the third try, but it came out great.
How was Vanessa Redgrave as Ms. Claus?
Maybe Britt still believes in Santa Claus.
Something something WAR ON CHRISTMASrabble rabble
The song isn’t remotely about anything non-consensual but times change and listening to this song without period-specific context can be uncomfortable, which is the last thing the Christmas season should bring. It’s easy to understand people not wanting to listen to it, and each radio station or music outlet should do what they believe is best.
It’s a relief that the pendulum is finally swinging the other way, and most snarky “that song’s so problematic” takes are being met with the song’s original context, which is actually somewhat empowering. “Say, what’s in this drink?” used to be a common jokey phrase people used if they were acting outgoing or “untoward,” a sorta-classy way of admitting you’re being a little uncouth. Most of the lyrics are about what *others* would say or do if she stayed overnight with this dude; she’s struggling with societal pressure to be a “lady,” when in reality she’s having a great time. She’s expressing a desire for autonomy, but these days we go for the low-hanging fruit and make the same tired roofie joke.
It also seems to have been recognized and dealt with even at the time, with its use in Neptune’s Daughter being immediately followed by a comedy gender-swapped version.
I love the song and fully believe that it’s just taking the piss out of gossipy scolds, but that version always came across to me as a point in favour of it being about harassment. There’s some brilliant physical comedy in there, but Red Skelton is actually trying to leave through the song, and Garrett getting all up in his personal space (and pinning him to the couch while the screen fades to black) skeeves me out.https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpDLpz88V-I
The Muppets, oddly, did a gender swapped version that really leans in to the creepiness. Also, it’s set in a co-ed sauna, because why not.
Miss Piggy just doesn’t get it that no means no.
Ironically, the rapey interaction was more when the woman was the forward one.
What’s the charming, early 20th century explanation for “The answer is no”?
This song will always be a woman saying 23 different versions of no, including literally saying no. “My mother will start to worry” has just been modernized to “I’ve got a boyfriend”.
Or you’re reading into things that aren’t actually in the song. Which probably helps you feel better about things I guess.
I thought “say what’s in this drink” was a subject-changer, like “how about those Mets!”
“Baby, it’s cold outside” is only creepy if you want to be (and don’t understand the writers’ purpose). https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/12/19/baby-its-cold-outside-was-once-an-anthem-for-progressive-women-what-happened/
I think the issue is that whatever the original intent, the language used now has too many negative connotations for it to play without making a lot of people uncomfortable. The “what did you put in my drink?” line may have been a joke originally, but too many of us know or are someone who’s drink has actually been spiked by someone looking to make them an easy target. It’s unfortunate, but not everything survives the passage of time unscathed.
Exactly. But things always need to be put into context. I dont know that date rape drugs were happening a lot in the 40’s or if anyone knew about it (having acces to 24/7 news, we hear all kinds of things) so yea..
Also the line is “Say what’s in this drink?” a big difference than “what did you put in my drink?” as you typed. It could mean anything.
When a song comes on most people do not stop what they are doing to research each song so that they can put them in “context.” If a song requires that much work to make it not rapey, it’s not a good song for this time. The “context” argument dismisses the context of how people typically listen to music.
When a song comes on, most people don’t stop to analyze every single word of the song. They just enjoy the song. Ed Sherran’s Shape of you was #1 for 12 weeks and has the most shallow lyrics… But nobody cares about that. “Context” will always be important and if you can’t be bothered to consider it about anything.. even when hearing a song, that’s just pretty pathetic.
First of all, that’s not the line. The line is “Say, what’s in this drink?” Not “did you drug me?” as you imply.Second, look at the lyrics. She never says she wants to leave. She is, in fact, trying to come up with an excuse to stay that will placate her judgmental family/neighbors (e.g. I was drunk; it was too cold to travel).Finally, as with any art, you can interpret it however you like. However, when there is clear documentation that the way you are interpreting it is incorrect, that’s on you, not on the art. So if you don’t like the song (and I actually don’t, but feel like there is a slippery slope of censorship here), don’t listen to it.
That’s where I get stuck somewhere in the middle for the couple weeks a year I actually think about the song. I totally understand how some of the lines could make people uncomfortable and maybe don’t play well to a modern ear. And, I see why people would remove it from their personal holiday playlists.But, I also don’t think we need a bunch of think pieces every Christmas full of people taking the song entirely out of context and decrying it as an embodiment of rape culture. I think it would be best served by just ignoring it and letting it fade into obscurity.
This is slightly unrelated to the subject of the article, but I’m pretty fed up with the word “gross” as a one-and-done blanket term for bigotry. It’s terse, vague, overused, and comes off whiny rather than incisive.
John Legend and Kelly Clarkson made “Wait (The Whisper Song)“ less gross
Hmmmm what would I rather listen to? Ray Charles and Betty Carter singing “Baby It’s Cold Outside” or John Legend and Kelly Clarkson’s cleaned up version? And can we be honest? Ray Charles was blind and wasn’t holding Betty Carter against her will. It’s practically a novelty song.
Fuck you SJWs! This song ain’t for you. Go remake I am woman hear me roar and leave this song to the real men.
Pretty sure roofies don’t leave someone talking like that. If a woman being roofied is indistinguishable from a woman who might buzzed, the world has much greater problems than people thinking this song is cute. Also, today’s relevant version is same-sex.
Thank you Scott Aukerman and Casey Wilson.
LOL, I’ve never seen this
And then there’s the most infamous offender of all: “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” about a man who refuses to let a woman leave his house and go the fuck home.This is literally not what the song is about. SHE DOESN’T WANT TO LEAVE.“Blurred Lines” was a rapey song. “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” was about a woman struggling to claim her sexuality within the strict social codes of the era.
Let me put it this way. Is there anything, anything at all that would be different in the lyrics if she didn’t?That’s the point. Not that she is being kept there, not that she is being plied with alcohol to diminish her ability to consent, but that any guy of the period could claim that ‘she wanted it’ and get away with it because ‘she didn’t want it’ and ‘she wanted it but couldn’t say it’ were identical. That’s an idea that’s best left in the past.
Frank Loesser in 1944- I’m gonna write a cute duet song.
People in 2000’s: He’s a rapist! Ban the song!!
My favorite Christmas song is called ‘The Man With The Bag’ and the chorus is about how everybody’s waiting for the guy. If the author wasn’t thinking about drugs when he wrote I certainly did when I heard it.
We live in the age of ‘faux outrage’, putting on public displays of moral outrage in anticipation of others being offended by stuff that nobody is actually offended by.
There’s a name for these: Radio Edits.It’s ok. The National Anthem has one, too.
If you like the original, keep listening it to it. A less rapey version doesn’t prevent you from
listening to the original so I don’t understand the outrage at this.What’s worse though is to call it “obnoxious and offensive”
for it to come from John Legend. Are only
women allowed to fight back against rape culture? Personally, I find it “obnoxious
and offensive” to suggest that the burden of ending rape culture is entirely
on women.
‘That song is so offensive!’ (sits down and watches Elf for the millionth time, quoting every line and singing along)
The only thing more annoying than the ridiculous uproar against this song every year is this horrible attempt at cleaning it. Your body your choice? COME ON
Oh look, John Legend did something bland and terrible. Shocker.
People really need to absorb the whole article, because Britt Hayes is dunking on John Legend more than anything.
Just stick with the Tom Wopat/John Schneider version. It remains problematic, but in a new way makes you forget the original problems the song has.
This is a stupid reaction to a stupid revision of a stupid song. All y’all can go fly a kite.
That song is not about what you think it’s about.