Song 120 - Baby, it's cold outside by Frank Loesser

Written by Frank Loesser in 1944, Baby, it's cold outside has become a Christmas Song by default, but was original recorded for the film, Neptune's daughter. Winning the Academy Award for best song in 1949, it had been originally written to be a duet between Loesser and his wife Lynn Garland to be sung at their hotel housewarming party, Garland was furious when their song was sold to MGM film studios.

The technical term for the type of duet Baby, it's cold outside, is a call and response duet. In this case it is the male voice trying to convince the female voice to stay with him  for a romantic evening because the weather is cold and the trip would be difficult. It is often seen as a cat and mouse situation, where depending on how you wish to listen to the lyrics, the male could be seen as a sexual predator trying to lure the female into bed against her will. When you think about the issue of date rape and spiking drinks, the line What's in this drink  takes on a whole different meaning.

Perhaps taking the lyrics to this type of level is too much especially as we know that this was a song written by a man to his wife, and perhaps, there is a danger of taking a playful song (which is how I've always seen it) and turning it into something far less pleasant than it is meant to be. Also when you look at the plot of Neptune's Daughter, it is a romantic comedy set around a swimming costume company starring Red Skelton and Esther Williams and with the two performances of the song in the movie, the roles are reversed between the main characters. I think there is a place for equality in music and for slapping down songs that are so obviously in their subject matter, but I think it is pretty harsh to put this song into this category given its origins and history.

Anyway, whatever you think of the song, here's the original from Neptune's Daughter

Baby, it's cold outside

Best original song: 1949

Written by Frank Losser

Film: Neptune's Daughter