The one thing I love about music is that everyone has their own story to tell – the musician, the lyrics, the way the fans decipher them and also the way a song can also create a memory or a meaning to someone. For this Christmas, I thought it would be fun to pause Listed for the month and celebrate Christmas songs and memories attached to them.

Track: Baby, It’s Cold Outside
Artist: Tom Jones & Cerys Matthews
Original Release Date: 1999

Everyone has a track then when you hear it, the song instantly makes you feel in the Christmas or winter spirit, well today we are going to look at a Christmas track that does it for me. I have no idea why this song I find really relevant to me but every time I do around Christmas it makes me feel in the spirit and the mood to celebrate the festive time.

I do not know why it was specifically this version that has that effect but I think it is because it came out when I was a kid – that tends to have the most effect on how you feel about something later in life. Even now, I have very faint images of this being played on Top of The Pops and that the music video was really vivid with colours. As a kid I used to really like music videos that were striking and felt that they were in a different world and this video had that sort of effect. 

I think at the time as well it was a track that was really unique as the pairing and Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews seemed really out of the blue. It was really catchy and I really liked the comedy of them talking together at the end as well. I love the strong brass introductions and melodies as it makes it a really great version of the track. 

Facts About Baby, It’s Cold Outside

•  Written by Frank Loesser in 1944 and popularized in the 1949 film Neptune’s Daughter
• While the lyrics make no mention of a holiday, it is popularly regarded as a Christmas song owing to its winter theme.
• The song was released in eight recordings in 1949 and has been covered numerous times since
• This version went to number 17 in the UK Charts.