“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” gets rewrite in John Legend’s Christmas album
By mbrooks on October 29, 2019
By Matthew Brooks
John Legend is releasing a new Christmas album that features a lyric makeover of a vintage holiday song.
In a duet with Kelly Clarkson, Legend sings “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” without some lines that hinted at coercion.
I really can’t stay (Baby, it’s cold outside)
I’ve gotta go away (I can call you a ride)
This evening has been (So glad that you dropped in)
So very nice (Time spent with you is paradise)
My mother will start to worry (I’ll call a car and tell ’em to hurry)
And a Vanity Fair article reveals another big change.
“What will my friends think…” she sings
“I think they should rejoice,” he responds.
“… if I have one more drink?”
“It’s your body, and your choice.”
Legend worked with Natasha Rothwell on the rewrite.
The implication is clear in the new version: It’s her choice, not his coercion.
John Legend’s A Legendary Christmas: The Deluxe Edition is due out Nov. 8.