Little People Lyrics – Les Miserables

Song Overview

“Little People” lands near the barricade’s tipping point in Les Misérables: The Complete Symphonic Recording (1988), but its roots stretch back to the earliest London workshops. At just 2 minutes 30 seconds it showcases Gavroche’s cocky street-oratory, the International Cast’s kaleidoscopic accents, and David Caddick’s 80-piece pit band in gleeful high gear. The album later scooped the 33^rd Grammy for Best Musical Cast Show Album, the first outright win for a through-sung score since Evita.

Personal Review

I first met “Little People” on a crackling triple-CD borrowed from the public library the winter Berlin’s wall fell. A single snare roll, then the kid launches, taunting Javert with mock-courtroom flourish. Even on tinny headphones the lyrics felt combustible, proof that revolution can hide in a child’s pocket. Three decades later the bite remains; the tempo may be modest (around 90 BPM), yet every syllable stomps like boots on cobblestone.

Song Meaning and Annotations

The number erupts moments after Gavroche unmasks Javert as a spy. In poetic shorthand he flips social hierarchy: a waif humiliates the Empire’s watchdog. The refrain – “And little people know / When little people fight…” – crystallises Victor Hugo’s faith that the downtrodden can topple giants. Schönberg underlines the cheek with a penny-whistle countermelody, while brass quote Javert’s iron-fisted motif, now turned against him.

Two versions roam theatre history. The original London score placed a longer ditty in Act I; later revisions halved it, tying the tune to Javert’s exposure. Tom Hooper’s 2012 film trims further, splitting a twelve-bar fragment between the spy reveal and Gavroche’s fatal ammo dash.

Lines like

“So never kick a dog / Because he’s just a pup”

The applause cue arrives at Gavroche’s final taunt:

“So you’d better run for cover / When the pup grows up!”

Verse Highlights

Opening Boast

A mock-formal greeting to “dear Inspector” frames revolutionary satire inside playground bravado.

Refrain

Triplet kicks in the accompaniment mimic cobblestones rattling under marching feet, anchoring the anthem-within-a-song.

Bridge: Students vs. Spy

Enjolras’ men hijack Javert’s own melodic tag, proving that authority’s symbols are weapons merely waiting for fresh owners.

Song Credits

• Featured Cast: Ross McCall (Gavroche), Anthony Warlow (Enjolras), Philip Quast (Javert)
• Producer: David Caddick
• Composer: Claude-Michel Schönberg
• Lyricists: Alain Boublil & Herbert Kretzmer
• Release Date: October 17 1988 (UK) / February 1989 (World)
• Genre: Symphonic musical-theatre
• Instruments: Orchestra – strings, brass choir, penny-whistle, field drum
• Label: First Night Records
• Length: 2 : 30
• Mood: Defiant, puckish
• Poetic Meter: Iambic tetrameter with internal triplets
• Copyright: © 1988 Exallshow Ltd / Warner Music Group

Songs Exploring Themes of Underdog Defiance

Matilda’s rousing “Revolting Children” (2010) shares “Little People”’s child-led insurrection, yet its glam-rock stomp swaps cobbles for classroom desks, turning literature’s quiet girl power into protest pop.

Meanwhile, “Do You Hear the People Sing?” – also from Les Misérables – scales Gavroche’s personal brag into a mass street hymn. Where the boy vents individual cheek, the chorus welds bodies into political steel.

Across the Channel, Edith Piaf’s wartime classic “Dans ma Rue” paints everyday Parisian struggle in chanson hues. No barricades, yet the same cry: notice us, we matter.

Questions and Answers

Was “Little People” ever released as a single?

No; only the full symphonic album was marketed. Its standout single was “Bring Him Home.”

Did the song chart independently?

Cast-album tracks were ineligible for UK Singles charts in 1989, so none charted separately.

Why is the film version shorter?

Director Tom Hooper trimmed book fragments to tighten narrative flow, splitting the lyric into two cameo moments.

Are there published choral versions?

Yes, Hal Leonard issues SATB, SAB and two-part editions, arranged by Ed Lojeski.

What key and range does Gavroche sing?

Key of F major; range roughly A₃ to D₅, sitting comfortably for unchanged treble voices.

Awards and Chart History

The Complete Symphonic Recording secured the Grammy for Best Musical Cast Show Album at the 32^nd ceremony (1990), beating Jerome Robbins’ Broadway. It later earned RIAA Gold on September 29 1992 for U.S. shipments exceeding 500 000.

How to Sing?

Keep Gavroche bright but never shrill. Use a forward mask placement on top notes, crisp aspirates on plosives (“pickings,” “pup”), and relish the triplet bites. Conductors: quarter-note = 90, but exaggerate rallentando into Javert’s interjections to heighten tension.

Fan and Media Reactions

“The cheeky swagger of ‘Little People’ turns the barricade into a schoolyard – and that’s its genius.” Playbill blog comment, 2024

“I miss the full version on Broadway revivals; it gave Gavroche real narrative muscle.” Reddit user @BarricadeBard

“Our middle-school choir sang the Hal Leonard SATB – kids felt ten feet tall.” ACDA Choral Journal letter, 1993

“Film cut it to ribbons, but Daniel Huttlestone still nailed the attitude.” Filmtracks review, 2012

“The symphonic mix lets the penny-whistle pop; you hardly hear it in stage pits.” Wild Blog in the West, 2021