That Time Cancel Culture (almost) Worked; “Baby, it’s Cold Outside.”

My Annual Rant

The Song is not What You’ve Been Told it Is

Image from “Neptune’s Daughter” (Yes, it really is a young “Mr. Roark.”)

“Baby, it’s Cold Outside” is an evergreen seasonal favorite song, and deservedly so. Sometime during the “Me Too” movement, though, it was put on Santa’s “Naughty List.” Social critics have decried it, radio stations have banned it from playlists, friendships have fizzled between its insistent defenders and its indignant detractors, and it has been defiled with new, “socially responsible” lyrics. Some folks believe it requires a trigger warning.

We need to rescue this song and return it to the panoply of popular holiday standards, where it belongs.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’RE THINKING. I’LL GET THERE.

Frank Loesser, who wrote the music for Guys and Dolls, created “Baby” as a good night song he and his wife performed at their parties to signal to guests that it was time to go. It was more subtle, and more humorous, than pretending to yawn, and they got invited to lots more parties. Loesser borrowed the tune from their private life and used it for a comic scene in the 1949 film, “Neptune’s Daughter.” His wife wasn’t happy that Loesser borrowed…