Poor Unfortunate Souls (The Little Mermaid) Lyrics — Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic

Song Overview

Review and Highlights

Quick summary

• Where it appears: Ursula's lair sequence in The Little Mermaid (1989), the moment a contract becomes theater.
• Who performs it (1989): Pat Carroll as Ursula, with scene voices and supporting shouts folded into the arrangement.
• What it does in the story: It sells a deal by turning manipulation into a nightclub sermon.
• Style notes: Broadway-burlesque swagger, punchy patter, and a chorus that hits like a sales chant.
• Later spotlight versions: The Broadway adaptation expanded it into a longer stage centerpiece, and the 2023 live-action film kept it with minor lyric adjustments discussed in major press.

The Little Mermaid (1989) - film song - diegetic. Ursula stages a one-woman pitch meeting, complete with lighting cues, a signature laugh, and a contract that feels like a prop until it is not. The scene plays as spectacle, but it is also a trap closing in real time.

Disney villain numbers have a special job: they need to be fun enough that you want to replay them, while still telling the truth about danger. This one nails that balancing act. Menken and Ashman build a slippery little engine where jokes and threats share the same groove. Ursula is not just singing, she is negotiating. Every phrase is a nudge, every rhyme is a rope.

The arrangement leans into cabaret instincts: a showbiz stride, sudden pauses for comic emphasis, then a quick snap back into motion. Carroll's performance is the masterclass. She treats the melody like dialogue, stretching syllables when she wants to tease, clipping them when she wants to command. It is a performance that winks while it bites. I have heard plenty of stage and cover versions, but the original still feels like the blueprint.

Key takeaways: (1) The number turns persuasion into entertainment, which is why the manipulation slides down so easily. (2) The chorus works like a slogan, returning with tighter pressure each time. (3) The melodic hooks also seed Ursula's musical fingerprint elsewhere in the score.

Creation History

Alan Menken (music) and Howard Ashman (lyrics) wrote the song for the late-1980s Disney reset of the animated musical, where each character got a signature style and a clear dramatic function. Ursula's number was shaped to sound theatrical and slightly tacky in the best way, like a lounge act that knows it is running the room. The concept endured so strongly that later adaptations largely kept its shape, even when they adjusted a few lines for modern sensibilities. As stated in Vanity Fair magazine, Menken described making revisions for the live-action remake because certain phrases could send the wrong message about girls staying quiet.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

Ariel wants the surface world and a prince she barely knows, and Ursula offers a shortcut with a price tag. The song is the sales floor: Ursula presents herself as a misunderstood helper, parades a closet of past clients, then flips the mood from consolation to command. By the end, the contract is ready, the conditions are clear, and Ariel is cornered by her own longing. It is a musical sequence that doubles as paperwork.

Song Meaning

At its core, the message is: desire makes people easy to steer. Ursula frames her deal as empowerment, but every rhetorical move in the lyric strips Ariel of options. The number also plays with a darker idea about voice and agency. Ursula talks nonstop, controlling the narrative, while preparing to take Ariel's voice away. That contrast is not subtle, and it is why the song remains a lightning rod in discussions about what the story is really teaching.

Annotations

"Poor unfortunate souls"

The phrase sounds like compassion, but it is branding. Ursula turns other people's pain into her business model, and the repeated label keeps the audience focused on need rather than consent.

"It won't cost much - just your voice"

That dash is the con artist's timing. A big promise, then a casual drop of the real price, delivered as if it is pocket change.

"The men up there don't like a lot of blabber"

This is the lyric that later adaptations have had to stare down. It is not just villain talk, it is social commentary weaponized for manipulation. Ursula sells silence as strategy because she knows Ariel is already vulnerable.

Genre and rhythm

The number fuses Broadway structure with burlesque attitude. The verses move like patter, the chorus lands like a chant, and the whole thing rides a steady pulse that lets the vocal performance do the heavy lifting. Even when the orchestration swells, it stays pointed, like a spotlight following a magician's hands.

Symbols and staging

The potion, the contract scroll, the eels as assistants, the lighting shifts in the lair - these are not just set dressing. They are stage mechanics for coercion. Ursula creates a controlled environment where Ariel's hesitation looks silly and urgency looks wise. The song is a lesson in how atmosphere can be used to make a bad deal feel inevitable.

Production and motif

One of the cleverest musical decisions is how the melody plants itself in the film's wider musical language. The score borrows from its shapes later, so Ursula's presence can be felt even when she is not speaking. That is the kind of craft that separates a memorable villain tune from a simple scene song.

Technical Information

• Artist: Pat Carroll (as Ursula)
• Featured: Scene ensemble (supporting vocals and responses)
• Composer: Alan Menken
• Producer: Alan Menken; Howard Ashman; Robert Kraft
• Release Date: October 19, 1989
• Genre: Soundtrack; musical theater; villain cabaret
• Instruments: Lead vocal, ensemble vocals, orchestra, rhythm section, brass accents
• Label: Walt Disney Records
• Mood: Seductive, sly, controlling
• Length: 4:50 (soundtrack version)
• Track #: 8 (common soundtrack editions)
• Language: English
• Album: The Little Mermaid: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
• Music style: Broadway-burlesque fusion with comic patter and chant-like refrain
• Poetic meter: Mixed conversational meter, with frequent accent-driven punch lines

Questions and Answers

Who sings the original version in the 1989 film?

Pat Carroll performs it as Ursula, with the arrangement leaving room for scene responses and theatrical punctuation.

Why does the song feel like a stage monologue?

It is structured like persuasion theater: setup, testimonials, terms, and a closing push. Ursula speaks through melody the way a seasoned performer controls a room.

Is the number meant to be funny or scary?

Both. Comedy lowers Ariel's guard, then the lyric tightens into threats. The tonal switch is the trap.

What is the song's central tactic?

Reframing. Ursula treats a life-altering trade as a bargain, then treats hesitation as childish.

Why did the 2023 remake adjust some lines?

Menken said the team reconsidered phrases that could be read as encouraging girls to stay quiet, even though the character is manipulating Ariel.

How does the Broadway version differ?

Stage versions tend to stretch the scene, adding extra theatrical detail and sometimes a longer runtime, turning it into a bigger set piece.

Did the song appear in live TV adaptations?

Yes. ABC's The Little Mermaid Live! included a performance by Queen Latifah as Ursula.

Why is it often called a definitive villain song?

Because it makes the antagonist's worldview explicit. You hear the con, you enjoy the show, and you watch the victim sign anyway.

What musical detail helps it stick in memory?

A chorus built like a slogan. The refrain returns with the same hook but a sharper edge, which makes it easy to recall and easy to quote.

Awards and Chart Positions

This track did not get the awards spotlight that two sibling songs received, but the film's music dominated the season. According to Oscars.org, The Little Mermaid won for Original Song with "Under the Sea" and earned a second nomination with "Kiss the Girl," leaving this villain number as the cult favorite rather than the ballot pick. If you want a quick snapshot of how voters leaned: they rewarded the party anthem and the romantic push, not the con artist's sermon.

As a recording, the song has traveled more through reissues and adaptations than conventional single charts. The original soundtrack album, however, has posted long-running sales milestones and major industry recognition, keeping this track in rotation for decades.

How to Sing Poor Unfortunate Souls

Vocal and tempo reference points: Many vocal guides place the original key around F minor and suggest a working range near F3 to D5. Tempo estimates vary by edition, but common analysis tools cluster around the low 70s BPM for the soundtrack recording. Treat these as starting points because stage and karaoke materials often publish in different keys.

1. Tempo: Start slow and clear. Practice around 70 to 76 BPM before you add any acting. The groove should feel like a sly walk, not a sprint.
2. Diction: The lyric is a con, and cons require clarity. Over-articulate plosives and sibilants so the patter reads like dialogue.
3. Breathing: Mark breaths before long pitch sequences and before any mock-earnest speech. Ursula sounds in control because the breath plan is in control.
4. Rhythm and rubato: Let yourself steal time on punch lines, then snap back into the beat. The return to tempo is the musical equivalent of Ursula tightening her grip.
5. Character tone: Keep the sound chest-forward and conversational. Save the bigger resonance for the moments where the deal turns from teasing to command.
6. Accents: Hit key words like a salesperson underlining a contract. Do not underline everything, or the menace turns cartoonish.
7. Ensemble moments: If you have supporting voices, rehearse their entrances like percussion. Tight responses make the scene feel staged and inevitable.
8. Mic technique: On spoken-sung lines, get closer. On the biggest chorus hits, back off slightly to avoid harsh peaks and preserve the sly tone.
9. Pitfalls: Rushing patter, forcing a villain rasp, and over-belting climaxes. The power is in persuasion, not volume.
10. Practice material: Speak the text in rhythm, then add pitch. Finally, sing while miming the contract beats so the acting stays locked to the musical structure.

Additional Info

The song's afterlife is a tour of modern Disney platforms. The Broadway cast recording gives it extra runtime and a more overtly theatrical arc, and the 2019 live TV special treated it as a headline performance slot. In 2023, Melissa McCarthy recorded a new version for the live-action soundtrack, and Entertainment Weekly magazine described how she drew from drag influences while still aiming to keep the character threatening.

It has also become a reliable cover vehicle for performers who want to show acting chops inside a pop framework. A Disney Channel-era reimagining appeared in Descendants 2, sung by China Anne McClain, which repositions Ursula's pitch as a modern villain flex rather than an underwater sales job.

One last craft detail I love: the number is not just a scene, it is a musical seed. Later cues and reprises borrow its shapes to signal Ursula's influence. That is an old theater trick, and it works like a charm when the villain is trying to haunt the story.

Key Contributors

Sources: IMDb soundtrack credits for The Little Mermaid (1989), Oscars.org (62nd Academy Awards), Golden Globes Award database listings for 1989, Vanity Fair (Alan Menken interview, March 2023), Variety (April 2023 report on lyric updates), Entertainment Weekly (Melissa McCarthy interview on Ursula performance), Discogs (1989 soundtrack and Broadway cast recording tracklists), Spotify track listings for 1989 and 2023 recordings, Singing Carrots vocal range database, TuneBat tempo listing