Is Baby It's Cold Outside offensive? Calls for Christmas classic to be BANNED

5 December 2018, 11:06

Will Ferrell and Zooey Deschanel sang the song in the film Elf
Will Ferrell and Zooey Deschanel sang the song in the film Elf. Picture: New Line Cinema

The popular Christmas song has been banned by a US radio station for being 'inappropriate'

Like it or loathe it, we're now well and truly into can't-escape-Christmas-music-to-save-your-life season. But one song in particular is causing a stir this year, as many have claimed it to be offensive.

Read more: Parents slam 'rip off' £20-a-ticket Christmas grotto that is actually 'rubbish tip manned by bored elves'

Baby It's Cold Outside, which was written by Frank Loesser in 1944 and has since been covered by Michael Bublé, Idina Menzel, James Taylor, Tom Jones, Cerys Matthews, as well as Will Ferrell and Zooey Deschanel in the film Elf, has been axed from a US radio station for its containment of what many have deemed to be 'inappropriate' lyrics.

Michael Buble has covered the Christmas classic
Michael Buble has covered the Christmas classic. Picture: Getty

Star 102 Cleveland radio have banned the song from their Christmas playlist because of the story it tells, a man trying to persuade a woman to spend the night with him rather than go home, and its use of phrases such as "What’s in this drink?" and "Baby, don’t hold out".

It also features the lyric: "I simply must go (But baby it's cold outside) The answer is no (But baby it's cold outside)."

Glenn Anderson, a presenter at the station, said in a blog that although the song was written in a different era, the lyrics "felt manipulative and wrong".

He wrote: "The world we live in is extra sensitive now, and people get easily offended, but in a world where #MeToo has finally given women the voice they deserve, the song has no place."

What do YOU think? Should Baby It's Cold Outside be banned? Read the lyrics and vote in our poll below.

I really can't stay - Baby it's cold outside
I've got to go away - Baby it's cold outside
This evening has been - Been hoping that you'd drop in
So very nice - I'll hold your hands, they're just like ice
My mother will start to worry - Beautiful, what's your hurry
My father will be pacing the floor - Listen to the fireplace roar
So really I'd better scurry - Beautiful, please don't hurry
Well Maybe just a half a drink more - Put some records on while I pour

The neighbors might think - Baby, it's bad out there
Say, what's in this drink - No cabs to be had out there
I wish I knew how - Your eyes are like starlight now
To break this spell - I'll take your hat, your hair looks swell
I ought to say no, no, no, sir - Mind if I move a little closer
At least I'm gonna say that I tried - What's the sense in hurting my pride
I really can't stay - Baby don't hold out
Ahh, but it's cold outside

C'mon baby

I simply must go - Baby, it's cold outside
The answer is no - Ooh baby, it's cold outside
This welcome has been - I'm lucky that you dropped in
So nice and warm -- Look out the window at that storm
My sister will be suspicious - Man, your lips look so delicious
My brother will be there at the door - Waves upon a tropical shore
My maiden aunt's mind is vicious - Gosh your lips look delicious
Well maybe just a cigarette more - Never such a blizzard before

I've got to get home - Oh, baby, you'll freeze out there
Say, lend me your comb - It's up to your knees out there
You've really been grand - Your eyes are like starlight now
But don't you see - How can you do this thing to me
There's bound to be talk tomorrow - Making my life long sorrow
At least there will be plenty implied - If you caught pneumonia and died
I really can't stay - Get over that old out
Ahh, but it's cold outside

Baby it's cold outside

Brr it's cold...
It's cold out there
Can't you stay awhile longer baby
Well... I really shouldn't... Alright

Make it worth your while baby
Ahh, do that again...

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