‘Cancelled’ Christmas song defended as people debate ‘triggering’ lyrics
The 1950s song was briefly taken off the air due to its lyrics
Britt Jones
Christmas is nearly here and that means old Xmas classics will be blasting on the radio soon. However, will this ‘cancelled’ one make an appearance this year?
There has been a slew of controversial festive hits in the last few decades, and mostly, it’s down to changing times and social or political norms.
For example, The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl’s1988 ‘Fairytale of New York’ hit is regularly censored as it includes a word which is used as a homophobic slur.
There’s also Weird Al Yankovic’s ‘Christmas At Ground Zero’, which talks a about a nuclear disaster over the festive period, and it's a little iffy.
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However, it’s Frank Loesser’s 1959 ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ hit that has been the subject of a debate for years.
Loesser, who NME reports wrote the song for him and his wife to duet at parties, has long been accused of including themes of date rape.
Because it’s nearly that time of year again, people have been bringing it up and discussing if this song deserves to be on the radio in 2025.
The Reddit user wrote: “Am I the only one who thinks that ‘Baby, it's cold outside’ is a horrific Christmas song about date-rape?”
This was then followed by examples of the lyrics so others could ‘be the judge’ and pass verdict.
For example, lines like 'Say, what's in this drink? (No cab's to be had out there)' .
But while there are some who aren’t happy about the song, others wish it was never ‘cancelled’ online for its themes, as it’s ‘a fun’ song.
There were those who refused the notion that the song was cancelled as they still hear it on the radio, and another claimed it’s not actually a controversial song, it’s actually a feminist anthem.
They said the woman is simply refusing his offer to stay so she could remain ‘proper’ due to it being improper to have sex outside of marriage.
In 2018, when US radio stations took Dean Martin’s version of the song off the air, Martin’s daughter criticised the decision, saying: “It’s a sweet, flirty, fun holiday song … I know my dad would be going insane right now.”
Essentially, the classic Christmas song is all about a woman who has dropped in to spend some time with a man at his home, have a drink or two and warm up as it snows outside.
However, when the time comes for her to leave, the man begins to try to convince her to stay... for what seems like adult activities.
With lyrics like ‘what’s in this drink’, and ‘the answer is no’, it even caused John Legend to rewrite it for his 2019 rendition.
One person on Reddit called the song ‘triggering’ and asked social media users if they too find it uncomfortable.
But the jury isn't out on it yet.
So, there you go. What do you think?