Classic Christmas duet by Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews is rewritten to promote consent

Have you ever listened to the lyrics of Baby, It’s Cold Outside carefully?

Baby, It’s Cold Outside has become a favourite Christmas song since it first came out in 1944, even though it doesn’t even mention the festive season.

It was written by Frank Loesser and over the years it’s been covered by the likes of Ray Charles and Betty Carter, Rod Stewart and Dolly Parton and Wales’ own Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews covered it in 1999.

But while some lines could be seen as seductive, they have been criticised for sounding creepy.

It starts off with lyrics like: “My mother will start to worry (beautiful what’s your hurry?)”

It progressively becomes more persuasive and then there’s the line “Say what’s in this drink?” implying something isn’t quite right and she has possibly been spiked.

And “I ought to say, no, no, no sir (mind if I move in closer?)”

Watch Cerys Matthews and Tom Jones in action

So one couple have decided to confront the way it seems to deal with consent with a new cover of the track.

Minneapolis singer-songwriters Lydia Liza and Josiah Lemansk have changed the lyrics to emphasise the importance of consent.

Speaking to CNN, Josiah Lemansk, 25, said: “I’ve always had a big problem with the song. It’s so aggressive and inappropriate.

Lydia, 22, agreed with him.

She said: “We started thinking of the open-ended questions that song has,” she said. “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.”

The resulting song keeps the melody but the lyrics are different.