Couple Re-Write "Baby Its Cold Outside" with Consent

By Xyla Joelle L. Fernandez

Dec 05 2016, 10:03 AM EST

Lydia Liza and Josiah Lemanski, a Minnesota-based couple, bonded over their mutual distaste for the lyrics of Frank Loesser's classic Christmas tune, "Baby It's Cold Outside."

The 1944 original version of the song alludes to non-consensual sex with lyrics including, "What's in this drink?" and more, as a woman tries to leave an all-too-persistent man during a snowstorm. Liza and Lemanski decided to give it a 2016 update.

Lemanski, 25 year old, said that he always had a big problem with the song because I is so aggressive and inappropriate. His partner can never be more that agree on what he said. Liza said that they started thinking of the open-ended questions that the song has. The two got to work on answering these questions after 72 years.

Josiah Lemanski and Lydia Liza's version of the song is that the contents of the woman's drink are perfectly innocent, with the male voice responding, "Pomegranate La Croix." And when the woman says she "really can't stay," her male counterpart counters with "Baby I'm fine with that." In the end, the two work together to get the woman home and they set a date for a dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.

The couple also said they hoped the song would raise awareness of the need for consent, given the problem of sexual assault on college campuses.

In terms of their song's wildly popular reactions, Liza was surprised to hear that many people acknowledged they never considered the meaning behind the lyrics.

Liza said in an interview that she just thought that they were just doing like a really cool , good and funny thing and it had suddenly just felt right. She also said that they heard a lot of people say "wow, we never actually paid attention to the lyrics before."

But after the duo uploaded the song to SoundCloud, the couple found that what started out as a shared gripe between a boyfriend and girlfriend also resonated with the public at large.

And the couple hope their message continues to resonate. In fact, they have already been pitched other songs with questionable lyrics.