If you’ve ever listened to the classic Christmas song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” then you know it’s a really screwed up tune.
A couple from Minneapolis, Minnesota, found the ditty so unnerving that they decided to revamp it for a modern audience, reworking the lyrics to “emphasize the importance of consent,” according to CNN.
The original 1944 lyrics by Frank Loesser include problematic lines like, “What’s in this drink?” crooned by a woman and “What’s the sense in hurtin’ my pride?” by the man.
The duo, singer-songwriters Lydia Liza and Josiah Lemanski, told CNN that they felt that the original song was “aggressive and inappropriate,” arguing that the listener never finds out what happens to the woman in the song.
“You never figure out if she gets to go home. You never figure out if there was something in her drink. It just leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth,” said Liza.
The couple’s revised lyrics are adorably consensual, opening with “I really can’t stay” sung by Liza and “Baby, I’m fine with that” sung by Lemanski.
Most notably, when Liza sings, “I ought to say no, no, no,” Lemanksi responds with “You reserve the right to say no.”
The rest of the lyrics include a reference to Pomegranate La Croix (we’re unclear as to whether or not this flavor exists, but we’d totally drink it if it were real), as well as plans for a date at The Cheesecake Factory. Listen to the whole thing here:
The couple hopes that the song raises awareness for the need for consent and that “people will donate to charity or do some volunteer work at shelters or sexual assault centers.”
We can’t wait to see if they rewrite any other classic tunes. We’ll be sipping some La Croix while we wait.
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