"Baby, It's Cold Outside" - Now with new and improved(?) lyrics

Algernon_Asimov
Thu, 19 Dec 2019 23:28:20 +0000

We had a discussion here last year about "Baby, It's Cold Outside", and whether the lyrics to this song encourage rape. This came after a radio station pulled the song from its playlist after people complained it was too "rapey".

Well, John Legend has re-written this song "to remove the 'date-rape' lyrics". Here is the song and here are Legend's new lyrics.

What do you think? Did the song need to be re-written? Is this an improvement? Is this the "Christmas" song we need for a post-#metoo era?

Two asides:

This isn't really a "Christmas" song.

This isn't a Christmas song. The lyrics never mention Jesus or Christmas or Santa or Yuletide or the festive season. They don't even refer to Winter! There's just one lyric saying "it's cold outside" - and, as I mentioned in my analysis of the song last year, it's not even snowing in the movie scene where this song was first used.

This is ironic timing, considering Australia's weather.

Here in Australia, half the country is on fire and we're breaking all-time heat records - and here I am, writing about a song which says it's cold outside.

Comments URL: https://tildes.net/~music/kb6/baby_its_cold_outside_now_with_new_and_improved_lyrics

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