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 whats your hurry)
My father will be pacing the floor (listen to the fireplace roar)
So really i'd better scurry (sweetheart whats your hurry)
well maybe just a half a drink more (put some records on while i pour)
The neighbors might think (but 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 in closer)
At least i'm gonna say that i tried (what's the sense in hurtin' my pride)
I really can't stay (oh baby don't hold out)
Both---oh but it's cold out side!!!
I simply must go (baby it's cold outside)
The answer is no (but baby it's cold outside)
Your welcome has been (so lucky that you droped in)
So nice and warm (look out the window at that storm)
My sister will be suspicious (gosh your lips look delcious)
and My brother will be there at the door (waves upon the tropical shore)
my maiden aunts mind is vicious (oh baby your are so delicous)
well maybe just one little kiss more (never such a blizzard before)
I've gotta get home (but baby you'd freeze out there)
Say lend me a comb (it's up to your knees out there)
You've really been grand(i thrill when you touch my hand)
but don't you see? (how can you do this thing to me?)
There's bound to be talk tomorrow (making my lifelong sorrow)
At least there will be plenty implied (if you got namonia and died)
I really can't stay (get over that order)
Both---baby it's cold
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 whats your hurry)
My father will be pacing the floor (listen to the fireplace roar)
So really i'd better scurry (sweetheart whats your hurry)
well maybe just a half a drink more (put some records on while i pour)
The neighbors might think (but 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 in closer)
At least i'm gonna say that i tried (what's the sense in hurtin' my pride)
I really can't stay (oh baby don't hold out)
Both---oh but it's cold out side!!!
I simply must go (baby it's cold outside)
The answer is no (but baby it's cold outside)
Your welcome has been (so lucky that you droped in)
So nice and warm (look out the window at that storm)
My sister will be suspicious (gosh your lips look delcious)
and My brother will be there at the door (waves upon the tropical shore)
my maiden aunts mind is vicious (oh baby your are so delicous)
well maybe just one little kiss more (never such a blizzard before)
I've gotta get home (but baby you'd freeze out there)
Say lend me a comb (it's up to your knees out there)
You've really been grand(i thrill when you touch my hand)
but don't you see? (how can you do this thing to me?)
There's bound to be talk tomorrow (making my lifelong sorrow)
At least there will be plenty implied (if you got namonia and died)
I really can't stay (get over that order)
Both---baby it's cold
Baby it's cold outside
song info:
Verified yes
LanguageEnglish
GenrePop
Rank−
Duration00:04:08
Charts
Copyright ©Lyrics © Warner/chappell Music, Inc.
WriterFrank Wildhorn
Lyrics licensed byLyricFind
AddedNovember 6th, 2004
Last updatedMarch 5th, 2022
About"Baby, It's Cold Outside" is a song written by Frank Loesser in 1944.[1] It is a call and response duet in which one of the singers (usually performed by a male voice) attempts to convince a guest (usually performed by a female voice) that they should stay together for a romantic evening because the weather is cold and the trip home would be difficult.
Originally recorded for the film Neptune's Daughter, it has been recorded by many artists since its original release, including Ray Charles, Dolly Parton and Michael Bublé.
Loesser wrote the duet in 1944 and premiered the song with his wife, Lynn Garland, at their Navarro Hotel in New York housewarming party, and performed it toward the end of the evening, signifying to guests that it was nearly time to end the party. Loesser would introduce himself as the "Evil of Two Loessers", a play on the theme of the song, trying to keep the girl from leaving, and on the phrase "lesser of two evils". This was a period when the Hollywood elite's chief entertainment was throwing parties and inviting guests who were expected to perform. Garland wrote that after the first performance, "We become instant parlor room stars. We got invited to all the best parties for years on the basis of 'Baby.' It was our ticket to caviar and truffles. Parties were built around our being the closing act." Garland considered it their song and was furious when Loesser told her he was selling the song. Garland wrote, "I felt as betrayed as if I'd caught him in bed with another woman."
The lyrics in this duet are designed to be heard as a conversation between two people, identified as "mouse" (usually female) and "wolf" (usually male) on the printed score; they have returned to the wolf's home after a date, and the mouse decides it is time to go home, but the wolf flirtatiously invites the mouse to stay as it is late and "it's cold outside." The mouse wants to stay and enjoy herself, but feels obligated to return home, worried what family and neighbors will think if she stays. Every line in the song features a statement from the mouse followed by a response from the wolf, which is musically known as a call and response song.
Although some critical analyses of the song have highlighted parts of the lyrics such as "What's in this drink?" and the wolf's unrelenting pressure to stay despite the mouse's repeated suggestions that she should go home, others noted that cultural expectations of the time period were such that women were not socially permitted to spend the night with a boyfriend or fiancé, and that the mouse states that she wants to stay, while "What's in this drink?" was a common idiom of the period used to rebuke social expectations by blaming one's actions on the influence of alcohol.
In 1948, after years of informally performing the song at various parties, Loesser sold the rights to MGM, which inserted the song into its 1949 motion picture, Neptune's Daughter. The film featured two performances of the song: one by Ricardo Montalbán and Esther Williams and the other by Red Skelton and Betty Garrett, the second of which has the roles of wolf and mouse reversed. These performances earned Loesser an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
In at least one published version the tempo of the song is given as "Loesserando", a humorous reference to the composer's name.
Originally recorded for the film Neptune's Daughter, it has been recorded by many artists since its original release, including Ray Charles, Dolly Parton and Michael Bublé.
Loesser wrote the duet in 1944 and premiered the song with his wife, Lynn Garland, at their Navarro Hotel in New York housewarming party, and performed it toward the end of the evening, signifying to guests that it was nearly time to end the party. Loesser would introduce himself as the "Evil of Two Loessers", a play on the theme of the song, trying to keep the girl from leaving, and on the phrase "lesser of two evils". This was a period when the Hollywood elite's chief entertainment was throwing parties and inviting guests who were expected to perform. Garland wrote that after the first performance, "We become instant parlor room stars. We got invited to all the best parties for years on the basis of 'Baby.' It was our ticket to caviar and truffles. Parties were built around our being the closing act." Garland considered it their song and was furious when Loesser told her he was selling the song. Garland wrote, "I felt as betrayed as if I'd caught him in bed with another woman."
The lyrics in this duet are designed to be heard as a conversation between two people, identified as "mouse" (usually female) and "wolf" (usually male) on the printed score; they have returned to the wolf's home after a date, and the mouse decides it is time to go home, but the wolf flirtatiously invites the mouse to stay as it is late and "it's cold outside." The mouse wants to stay and enjoy herself, but feels obligated to return home, worried what family and neighbors will think if she stays. Every line in the song features a statement from the mouse followed by a response from the wolf, which is musically known as a call and response song.
Although some critical analyses of the song have highlighted parts of the lyrics such as "What's in this drink?" and the wolf's unrelenting pressure to stay despite the mouse's repeated suggestions that she should go home, others noted that cultural expectations of the time period were such that women were not socially permitted to spend the night with a boyfriend or fiancé, and that the mouse states that she wants to stay, while "What's in this drink?" was a common idiom of the period used to rebuke social expectations by blaming one's actions on the influence of alcohol.
In 1948, after years of informally performing the song at various parties, Loesser sold the rights to MGM, which inserted the song into its 1949 motion picture, Neptune's Daughter. The film featured two performances of the song: one by Ricardo Montalbán and Esther Williams and the other by Red Skelton and Betty Garrett, the second of which has the roles of wolf and mouse reversed. These performances earned Loesser an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
In at least one published version the tempo of the song is given as "Loesserando", a humorous reference to the composer's name.
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