Originally Posted by eddie1261
Just like how the libs put their spin to the phrase "What did you put in that drink" in "Baby It's Cold Outside" and got it banned from the radio, isn't it possible that the composers meant (IN 1944!!!) "I was expecting ginger ale. Did you put some whiskey in there too?" The feminists would add "You are trying to get her drunk so you can take advantage of her!"
I don't think it was the libs who put their spin on the phrase "What did you put in that drink" - it was the people who drugged and raped people.

That's the kind of thing that can take the fun out of anything.

The writers certainly did not mean ginger ale. That's why she sings "just half a drink more":

   But maybe just a half a drink more
   I'll put some records on while I pour

The singer is saying the drink is stronger than she expected, and that she find that suddenly she's "in some crazy spell", but finds she can't seem to say "no, no, no" like she knows she should:

   Say what's in this drink?
   I seem to be in
   Some crazy spell
   I ought to say "No, no, no sir"
   At least I'm gonna say that I tried

Now, I think this is a really well written lyric. The phrase "crazy spell" makes it clear that it's not the alcohol that's what's making her feel that way. And her reluctance to leave is made even more clear by "At least I'm gonna say that I tried".

Still, it's enough to make me a uncomfortable, because it's awfully close to something that isn't funny.

I'm reminded of a co-worker used to work in an institution. He couldn't stand to watch pratfalls and other sorts of physical comedy, because the real damage this would cause was all too real to him.

Similarly, the song is intended as a playful back-and-forth, but time changes how we respond to someone who won't take "No" for an answer.

   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 dropped in)
   So nice and warm

I'd say that what that means now is different than what it means then. But for some people, it was never different.

The song was eventually used in the film "Neptune's Daughter" - twice. When the song is used a second time, the genders of the singers are swapped, and the female singer is much more aggressive, eventually pinning the guy on the couch. Of course, it's played for laughs, but had it been the other way around it wouldn't have been acceptable - even in the 1940s:



Welp, I guess you got an opinion.

-- David Cuny
My virtual singer development blog

Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?