The REAL Origins & Meanings Of The "Brrr! It's Cold In Here" Cheerleader Cheer (Updated 2024 version)

Posted by flaco258 — January 14, 2009

ESTE ES EL VIDEO DE TRIUNFOS ROBADOS DONDE LOS TOROS LE ROBAN LA PORRA A LOS CLOVERS
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Translated from Spanish to standard English = "This is the video in which the Toros do the chant that they stole from the Clovers.
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Note that a very brief sample of the rhyme/cheer "U-G-L-Y" is heard before the featured cheer begins. That clip of a high school cheerleader cheer is from the 1986 movie Wildcats.  

This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series on the cheerleader cheer "Brrr It's Cold In Here".

Part I provides information about the origins of "Brrr It's Cold In Here", including information about the 2000 American cheerleader movie Bring It On. 

This post is divided into two parts.

Part A of this post showcases a video of that cheer from the "Bring It On" movie and presents an overview of the "Bring It On" cheerleader movie series. Part A also presents the lyrics for the "Brr It's Cold In Here" cheer and presents some explanations and sources for some of the lyrics for that cheer.

Part B of this post showcases some YouTube videos of what I believe are key African American sources for the "Brr It's Cold In Here" cheer.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/02/text-examples-videos-of-childrens.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. Part II features selected text examples of "Brrr! It's Cold In Here"as well as videos of children and teenagers performing versions of that cheer.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, linguistic, and entertainment purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and all those who are featured in this embedded video. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
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Most of the content of this post is reformatted from a still existing 2012 pancocojams post. That post was reformatted in 2020, but I deleted that version and replaced it with this 2024 version.

Neither the 2012 version nor the 2020 version of those posts have/had any comments.

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PART A

GENERAL COMMENT ABOUT THE "BRR IT'S COLD IN HERE" CHEERLEADER CHEER
"Brr It's Cold In Here" is a cheerleader cheer that is composed in the tradition of African American group bragging cheerleader cheers and other bragging African American cheers and chants. The way that "Brr It's Cold In Here" is performed in the 2000 Bring It On movie partly mimics the ways the stomping and hip shaking movements of stomp nd shake cheerleading.

Because I haven't come across any examples of "Brr It's Cold In Here" before this 2000 movie, I believe that it's very likely that that cheer was composed for that movie.   

One of the central themes of that first Bring It On movie was that the mostly White suburban cheerleading squad ripped off (stole) the words to "Brr It's Cold In Here" cheer and other cheers in their repertoire from the mostly Black urban cheerleading squad.

Although I haven't found any examples of "Brr It's Cold In Here" that predate that first Bring It On movie, I have come across examples of some other cheers in that movie or in other Bring It On movies from African American culture that predate those movies. Two examples are "Cheerleader/Roll Call", "Introduce Yourself", and "Shabooya Roll Call". 

Click https://cocojams2.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-influence-of-bring-it-on-movies-on.html for a cocojams2 post entitled "The Influence Of "Bring It On" Movies On Children's Cheerleading."
  
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE ABOUT THE BRING IT ON CHEERLEADER MOVIES SERIES

The five Bring It On cheerleader movies (from 2000-2009) have been highly influential in popularizing forms of African American dance style cheerleader cheers in the United States and elsewhere around the world. This is not to say that the routines that are performed by the White cheerleaders in those movies are the same as those performed by real African American cheerleader squads. They aren't. Even the movements to the very popular "Shabooya Roll Call" (which are performed by two African American and one Latina cheerleaders in the 2006 movie Bring It On-All Or Nothing) are exaggerated, and therefore are "fake Black". However, even though some of their movements are exagerrated, these routines, the words, and the confrontational, self-confident, "I'm cool" attitude with which this cheer, and other urban dance style cheerleader cheers are performed, are patterned after African American cheerleader cheers, and chants from other African American traditions such as drillt team movements, foot stomping cheers and historically Black Greek letter fraternity and sorority stepping.

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LYRICS FOR "BRR IT'S COLD IN HERE

"Ready girls?"
I said brr it’s cold in here
I said there must be Toros in the atmosphere
I said brr it’s cold in here
I said there must be Toros in the atmosphere
I said OEOEO ice ice ice
I said OEOEO ice ice ice

"Do your thing Isis!"
I said brr it’s cold in here
There must be some Clovers in the atmosphere
I said brr it’s cold in here
There must be some Clovers in the atmosphere
I said OEOEO ice ice ice
Slow it down
OEOEO ice ice ice
Here we go"

Source: Bring It On Cheers http://victory-star04.tripod.com/bringiton.html
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The captain of the cheer team (whose name is Isis in that movie) elongated the word "said" when she chants the line "Brr it's cold in here" for the first time. After that, the entire squad chants in unison until one member of the squad says "Do you thing, Isis!". That line isn't part of the chant.

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WHAT THE WORD "BRR" MEANS IN THAT CHEER

"Brr" is an English language interjection that signifies shivering because of the cold weather or because something you touched is cold (such as a block of ice.)  When the word "brr" is spoken, people may hug their bodies and imitate shivering.

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WHAT "COLD" AND "ICE" MEAN IN THE "BRR IT 'S COLD IN HERE" CHEER
The words "cold" and "ice" in the "Brr It's Cold In Here" cheer means thatthe team exudes "coldness"- they are :determined", unwavering", steadfast, fixed, serious, resolute, "on point", "hard", unemotional, and heartless when it comes to their cheer performances. According to that cheer, those cheerleaders carry these "cold" and "ice" (i.e. "ice cold") attitudes and personas with them so much so that even before they are seen, people feel their vibes and think or say out loud "Brr, it's cold in here. There must be some Clovers in the atmosphere" (meaning The Clovers are "in the house".

I believe that this vernacular definition of "cold" and "ice cold" is patterned after the use of those words in the culture and pledging chants of the first historically Black Greek letter (university based) social fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc.

The word "cold" and the word "ice cold" can have several meanings at the same time for men who are pledging Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and for men who are already members of that fraternity.

-"Cold" and "ice cold" refers to the cold day on December 4, 1906 when Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity was founded at Cornell University, New York.

-"Cold" and "ice cold" refers to being "determined", unwavering", steadfast, fixed, serious, resolute etc. on being a member of that fraternity, and living up to the fraternity's  mission and ideals.

-The word "cold" is the highest form of "cool" (awesome, great, wonderful etc).

-The word "cold” can also mean being unemotional (showing no emotion) or heartless.
I don’t think that’s what that word "cold" means in those cheers and chants, except that being emotionless may be a strategy to achieve the desired condition of being resolute (determined) to reach one’s goal of being a member of that fraternity

Except for the first meaning of it being cold when that fraternity was founded, the same meanings for "cold" can apply to the "Brr It's Cold In Here" cheerleader cheers and the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity chants and motifs.

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Here's an example of a positive vernacular definition of the word "cold" from a YouTube discussion thread about a step team performance in a December 1988 episode of the television series "A Different World". (That television series was about the relationship of African American students on the campus of a fictional Historical Black College and University (HBCU).

@NaturallyKoilyKuteness78, 2017
"This scene still gives me the chills. Those sistas were cold back then and now."
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My interpretation of that comment is that the Black women in that scene were awesome because they were so "on point" (unwavering in their focus on what they were doing and/or who they are as a member of that cheerleading squad and who they are period.

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For the cultural record, it should be noted that television depictions of stepping on several African American television series in the 1990s were largely directed (if not performed) by one or more actual members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Here's a comment that was published in the discussion thread for a video of a stepping performance in the Fresh Prince television series in which the step team chanted "Ice cold" while they do that step routine. ("Ice cold" is a signature statement and chant for that historically Black Greek letter fraternity.)

@bigbruhdocg4028, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a5A9h5MZlM
"This is my 1st time seeing this post on you tube after all these years but im the 1st guy vernon and yes in the 90's we did most of the black shows "a different world", I choreographed the movie house party 2 , arsenio, hall, yes sister sister and the list goes on. those are my fraternity brothers we are from alpha phi alpha  fraternity inc. i will be posting more footage soon!"
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This comment was written in response to several previous comments about him being cast as a fraternity stepper in several television series in the 1990s.  

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For the cultural record, it should be also be noted that in African American English, something or someone "being cold" and "being hot" ("bringing the heat")  can both mean "being awesome" mean "being awesome. A person or group can "bring the heat" because they are coldblooded in their dedication to and their performance of what they are doing.
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/07/ice-ice-baby-and-other-examples-of.html  for a 2014 pancocojams post entitled "Ice Ice Too Cold Too Cold" And Other Examples Of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity "Ice Cold" Chants And Motifs".

The Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity line "ice ice, too cold too cold" was popularized in mainstream United States by the 1990 hit record "Ice Ice Baby" by White rapper Vanilla Ice. Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_Ice_Baby.For information about the rapper Vanilla Ice, his song "Ice Ice Baby",

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THE SOURCE AND POSSIBLE MEANING OF THE "O E O E O" PART OF THE "BRR IT'S COLD IN HERE"  CHEER
in the cheerleader cheer "Brrr It's Cold In Here", the "O E O E O" (also given as "owee owee o" and similarly spelled words) are from the 1984 R&B song "Jungle Love" by Morris Day & The Times. That phrase, given as "Oh-wee-oh-wee-oh", was repeated in the background of that 1984 song. Morris Day & The Times sung "Jungle Love" and at least one other song when that group was featured as Prince's main competition in Prince's movie Purple Rain.

"O e o e o" refrain is sometimes written as "owwe owee oh" . Those letters are probably imitative  sounds that monkeys make in the jungle.

The term "jungle love" means love between two people who are different races/ethnicities (In the United States, ethnicity may refer to people who are Latino/a.)
Click http://www.lyrics007.com/The%20Time%20Lyrics/Jungle%20Love%20Lyrics.html for lyrics to "Jungle Love".

Neither that meaning of the "o e o e o" sound nor the vernacular meaning of "jungle love" have anything to do with the "Brr It's Cold In Here" cheer. I don't have any doubt that the "o e o e o" sound was just used in that cheer for its catchy rhythmic effect.  

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THE CUSTOM OF ELONGATED THE WORD "I SAID" THE FIRST TIME THEY ARE SAID IN A CHEER OR IN A CHANT 

Elongating the words "I said" at the beginning of a chant or cheer is sometimes done to emphasize the rest of that line. The Clover cheer captain (Isis) in the first Bring It On movie does tis the first time that she says "I said Brr It's Cold In Here".

In the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. chant "It's A Serious Matter", the soloist (or the entire step team) elongates the words "It's a" the first time they say those words. (Watch a video of that chant in Part B in this pancocojams post.).

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PART B

PROBABLE SOURCES FOR  THE "BRR IT'S COLD IN HERE" CHEER

These videos are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.

Video #1 - Ice Ice Baby...The Black And Gold

Allen C. Johnson, Jul 3, 2014

Ice Ice Baby . . . . The Black & Gold

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

credit: school daze
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These steppers were actual members of Morehouse College's chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.

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Video #2 - AKA 2019 Probate : Serious Matter - Pi Mu Chapter

pearlfection16, Apr 16, 2019

Pi Mu Chapter - Baylor University

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
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Notice how the soloist elongates the words "It's a" the first time she says them. Also, notice how the step team moves from one side to the other when they do this step. The Clover cheerleading captain elongated "I said" the first time she said those words in the Brr It's Cold In Here" cheer. Also, the Clover cheerleading team did a very similar side to side stomp when they performed the "Brr It's Cold In Here" cheer. 

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And just to pay homage to this fictionalized cheerleading squad and to enjoy it), here's a video of cheerleading scenes from from the the Wildcats movie

Video #3 - The Wildcat Cheerleaders



Ebola Entertainment, July 27, 2009

The best Cheerleaders on earth are from the [1986] movie "Wildcats" starring Goldie Hawn. They are my heroes. -snip-

Notice the cheerleaders' back and forth movements during the "U G L Y" cheer.

Two African American women who I interviewed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the late 1990s  2000s shared with me that they chanted "U.G.L.Y" before that cheer was included in the Wildcats movie.  As the first video in this pancocojams post documents, a small snippet of "U.G. L. Y" was also included in the 2000 Bring It On movie. 

Another version of the U.G.L.Y. cheer is featured in the first episode of the Lizzy McGuire show that was filmed on September 13-15, 2000.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2024/05/remembrances-examples-of-u-g-l-y-you.html  for a pancocojams post about this cheer entitled "Examples Of U.G.L.Y" Before 2000.

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This concludes Part I of this pancocojams series. (Updated 2024 version)

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