12 Days of Christmas: “Baby it’s Cold Outside”
“Baby it’s cold outside” isn’t all that bad, but still should be retired from the holiday playlist
The popular holiday song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” has been a hot topic this holiday season.
For several years now, there’s been a growing unrest regarding the lyrics and what they imply, especially in the wake of the #MeToo movement. The song details a man begging a woman to stay while the woman consistently says no and tries to leave.
This year, the song became even more controversial when a radio station in Cleveland, Ohio pulled the song from their Christmas lineup. Their stated reason was that a listener called in with some concerns about the inappropriate nature of the song’s lyrics.
In today’s culture, conversations involving phrases such as “Say, what’s in this drink?” and “the answer is no” stand out as coercive and rapey. In a society where date rape and the definition of consent are topics more and more people are discussing, this song has all the makings of a bad situation where the answer “no” means nothing.
The Ohio radio station reportedly held a poll on their website, which showed that a majority of listeners were in favor of removing the song. The decision went viral, and many other radio stations held their own votes, which were resoundingly in favor of keeping the song in the rotation.
Inappropriate lyrics or not, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” has been a Christmas classic since 1944, when Frank Loesser, the composer for “Guys and Dolls,” wrote it to perform with his wife for their friends during visits. According to Susan Loesser, the couple’s daughter, the song and dance became an instant party favorite.
In 1949, Loesser sold the song for use in “Neptune’s Daughter,” a romantic comedy. That year, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Looking at the song through the lens of the culture in the 1940s, the lyrics describe a conversation between a couple who have reached the end of their date. In the original score, the parts are labeled “the wolf” and “the mouse.” Throughout the song, the mouse makes excuses about why she should leave while the wolf tries to convince her to stay.
It’s not that the mouse really wants to say no to the warm fire and good company. It’s that society wouldn’t let her say yes.
In the years following World War II, relationships were focused on marriage and family. The American Dream in the late 1940s to the early 1950s revolved around the nuclear family, home ownership and steady employment. The Cold War era following the World Wars created a culture where any deviation from heterosexual marital relationships posed a threat to national security.
Despite these strict societal norms, the 1940s saw a significant rise in premarital sex, according to the US Census Bureau statistics on premarital pregnancy and single motherhood. After the Great Depression and the World Wars, Americans wanted to live more in the moment and enjoy life, which meant they were less likely to stick to traditional norms.
So, when the mouse says her family will start worrying and waiting for her return, she’s saying that there will be consequences for her staying the night. There is also the importance of the neighbors’ opinion and the talk that will ensue, which would affect her reputation.
The wolf responds to her concerns by giving her a list of socially acceptable excuses to stay the night: It’s late, it’s cold outside and snowing heavily, there are no cabs available and she could catch pneumonia and die.
The wolf doesn’t have as many social constraints as the mouse and can freely ask her to stay. It’s always assumed she’ll say no, because that’s what a proper young woman would do. He wants her to stay and knows she wants to stay as well.
The line “Say, what’s in this drink?” also has a different context then than it does now.
It doesn’t mean that the beverage was spiked with something, allowing the wolf to manipulate the mouse into staying. It was a common phrase used in movies whenever someone was saying or doing things they wouldn’t normally do. Actions performed under the influence could be excused because someone wasn’t in full control of themselves.
The joke is that there isn’t anything in the drink; it’s really a shield from criticism.
To further support the case that the situation was meant to be consensual, the couple comes together in the final verse to say “Baby, it’s cold outside.” The mouse agrees in the end and decides to do what she wants to, not what she’s expected to do.
Because of the song’s conclusion, many people see it as a feminist anthem, an example of an empowered woman taking control over her sexual choices before the sexual revolution of the 1960s.
There are others who see this song as a sign of a deeper cultural issue than whether or not the situation featured flirtatious foreplay or was an example of sexual assault. Instead, it’s an example of a problematic mindset where “boys will be boys” and when a woman says “no” she really means “yes.”
These differing arguments help to highlight the real problem with “Baby’s, It’s Cold Outside,” which is that today’s culture is outgrowing the song. More and more people are looking at pop culture relics from the past and noticing how the meanings have changed over time.
“With all the coverage of sexual harassment and assault that is happening, it becomes difficult to not strip down parts of our culture in order to figure out where we are supporting this violence,” said Adrienne Trier-Bieniek in an article from Snopes. “And I’m not sure that is a bad thing. It’s important that we reevaluate what we once thought was right and grow.”
Because the interpretation of the song has shifted so drastically from its original meaning, the great debate over whether it should be included in the holiday radio playlist continues every year.
It’s time to put the song to rest. Let it sit on the backburner for a few years and allow it to fade away into memory, to be brought out every once in a while for nostalgic purposes.
Too much energy is spent trying to rationalize a song that was originally only meant as a married couple’s parlour trick designed to let guests know that it was time to leave.
@miranda_lorenc