"Baby It's Cold Outside", for modern audiences

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

As I was watching a performance of Baby It's Cold Outside for the Disney Parks' Magical Holiday Celebration, I was coming across that one line that might seem a little bit controversial for modern audiences.

Say what's in this drink?​

I guess that line suggests that the guy is trying to give her alcohol disguised as an innocent beverage, or maybe that he's slipped a Mickey in there. Of course the whole song is filled with lyrics suggesting date rape. And what the heck is a "maiden aunt"?

I guess Frank Loesser had some other works where a guy is slipping alcohol (a rum spiked dulce de leche in Guys and Dolls) to a woman without her understanding what it was.

When it was written, it wasn't proper for a woman to stay over at a boyfriend's house after a date. She's worried about what her friends and family will think. The line what's in this drink reflected a common idiom of the time to blame deviations from social norms on alcohol. It doesn't suggest she was slipped a Mickey or served punch that she didn't know was spiked or anything.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Another so-called Christmas song that has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas. Phooey!!

I'm told Die Hard rejected the song because it wasn't appropriate for a Christmas movie.

 

[L&Lfan]

Winter Wonderland could take place anytime between December and March.

 

[lucas]

I like the Rod Stewart, Dolly Parton version.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

Say what's in this drink?

I guess that line suggests that the guy is trying to give her alcohol disguised as an innocent beverage, or maybe that he's slipped a Mickey in there. Of course the whole song is filled with lyrics suggesting date rape. And what the heck is a "maiden aunt"?

I guess Frank Loesser had some other works where a guy is slipping alcohol (a rum spiked dulce de leche in Guys and Dolls) to a woman without her understanding what it was.

Historically "slipping a Mickey" had absolutely nothing to do with men drugging women to take advantage. It had to do with incapacitation with the attempt to rob or as a payback for a slight.
The whole song is not filled with lyrics suggesting date rape...not even close.
A maiden aunt is a spinster...an older woman who has never been married.
You seem to typically put a lot of research into your posts here. I'm pretty disappointed you didn't do it before posting this.

 

[bcla]

Historically "slipping a Mickey" had absolutely nothing to do with men drugging women to take advantage. It had to do with incapacitation with the attempt to rob or as a payback for a slight.
The whole song is not filled with lyrics suggesting date rape...not even close.
A maiden aunt is a spinster...an older woman who has never been married.
You seem to typically put a lot of research into your posts here. I'm pretty disappointed you didn't do it before posting this.

Well - I've been ridiculed for supposedly using Google to research everything, so this time I declined.

I thought it was a more generic term that meant any form of slipping an incapacitating drug into a drink, for various insidious purposes. That's always been what I thought of when I heard the term, and it's a fairly common usage for it. Of course these days Rohypnol is the drug that people think of, but using "roofie" seemed a bit anachonistic.

I get that the lyrics might have been mildly risqué for their time but don't necessarily have the same meaning that they do today. But these days we've got a lot on our minds with controversies over consent, being drugged, "no means no", etc. How do these lyrics age? I'm just saying that the lyrics haven't aged well given that they suggest something different when heard in 2017.

 

[EMom]

I don't want every aspect of life to be the current style/trend. I can appreciate context. History matters. I would be bored stiff if everything had to be viewed through the lens of today. There's a lot of overly tender feelings these days, and an unwillingness or inability to look at things with any other eyes than those of perhaps 2015 to the present.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Maiden Aunt would be her mom's sister.

I personally adore this song by Dean Martin.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

BTW any time I hear it I always think of when my sister and I sing it and I say "baby its cold outside" and she says "so put on a sweater" lol.

 

[robinb]

Love the song, love the movie (Neptune's Daughter), love the line " my maiden aunt's mind is vicious" ( I picture Miss Gulch from Oz). One of my favorite versions is by Glee's Kurt and Blaine. And of course, there's Ella's.


It's a damn shame some stations have banned it from their Christmas playlists.

I love that movie too! I also love the song and don't consider it a "date rape" song at all.

For those who have not seen the movie, wait until the second part of the song when Red Skelton sings it.

 

[mummabear]

http://www.cracked.com/blog/how-men-are-trained-to-think-sexual-assault-no-big-deal/

This is an article from last year that I think points out how boys are given the wrong messsge from songs like this.

 

[mummabear]

 

[elphaba91]

I personally like the version sung by Idina Menzel (of course!) and Michael Bublé which is actually a 'clean' version. They change the lyrics to 'maybe just a soda pop more', 'was that a wink?' and 'my sister will be suspicious'. Plus the video is really cute!

 

[bcla]

I personally like the version sung by Idina Menzel (of course!) and Michael Bublé which is actually a 'clean' version. They change the lyrics to 'maybe just a soda pop more', 'was that a wink?' and 'my sister will be suspicious'. Plus the video is really cute!

How many more modern versions have the line about a cigarette being replaced with some other line? That's certainly one of those things that seems a little bit dated, and certainly not mentioned in a song.

 

[NHdisneylover]

http://www.cracked.com/blog/how-men-are-trained-to-think-sexual-assault-no-big-deal/

This is an article from last year that I think points out how boys are given the wrong messsge from songs like this.

Yep---many of those messages are out there, everywhere.
Then again, actually talking about this song in context, expaining to kids (of any gender) how one reason there is this perception that women do not mean no when they so no is beucase there was a time when they DID have to say things they did not literally mean because society had this ridiculous pressure on women that said a woman was not allowed to admit to being interested in such things. Heck, we still have a big double standard there (men get spoken about sort of admirably for "playing the field" or are, at most, sort of laguhed at in a bless his heart kind of way for being "ladies men" but women are often still looked on very negatively as "sluts" for the exact same behavior).
Hating a song beucase of the time it came from, not talking about context and subtext and tone with kids so they can really better understand what consent is and how it might be given or not--that does them a disservice. We'Re stil sining about "Blurred Lines" beucase they are still there and society still pressures women in ways it does not pressure men. Talking about ALL of that with your kids as they grow up will do far more for them than trying to pretend there is some easy black and white answer and everything fally into neat categories regarldess of subtext, time, culture, etc,

 

[mummabear]

Yep---many of those messages are out there, everywhere.
Then again, actually talking about this song in context, expaining to kids (of any gender) how one reason there is this perception that women do not mean no when they so no is beucase there was a time when they DID have to say things they did not literally mean because society had this ridiculous pressure on women that said a woman was not allowed to admit to being interested in such things. Heck, we still have a big double standard there (men get spoken about sort of admirably for "playing the field" or are, at most, sort of laguhed at in a bless his heart kind of way for being "ladies men" but women are often still looked on very negatively as "sluts" for the exact same behavior).
Hating a song beucase of the time it came from, not talking about context and subtext and tone with kids so they can really better understand what consent is and how it might be given or not--that does them a disservice. We'Re stil sining about "Blurred Lines" beucase they are still there and society still pressures women in ways it does not pressure men. Talking about ALL of that with your kids as they grow up will do far more for them than trying to pretend there is some easy black and white answer and everything fally into neat categories regarldess of subtext, time, culture, etc,

I don’t disagree.
We have a spot the dog book, in which spot goes on a sleepover and forgets his teddy which his mom brings over, when she arrives he says “what do you want mom?” Every time we read it, we discuss how rude Spot is by talking to his mother like that, what else he could have said, and what they think would happen if thy spoke to me like that...but it doesn’t stop us from reading it

 

[MDIME]

If “Baby It’s Cold Outside” puts your panties in a bunch then you should listen to the Police’s “Every Breath You Take”.

 

[Skywalker]

Never mind. It's just not worth it.

I don't get the attitude here. Are you...angry because some people don't interpret a song the same way you do? Believe it or not, there are some rebels around who don't take knee-jerk offence to everything.

 

[scrhsa]

Maiden Aunt would be her mom's sister.

I personally adore this song by Dean Martin.

Yep, but I can't stand the one with Dean and Martina McBride!!! Who does she think she is? Thinking she could keep up with Dino?

 

[Klayfish]

I personally like the version sung by Idina Menzel (of course!) and Michael Bublé which is actually a 'clean' version. They change the lyrics to 'maybe just a soda pop more', 'was that a wink?' and 'my sister will be suspicious'. Plus the video is really cute!

The PC police strike again and make a mockery of a good song...