Ugg-a-Wugg / The Pow Wow Polka Lyrics – Peter Pan

Song Overview

“Ugg-a-Wugg” (also billed as “Ugh-A-Wug” or, since 2014, “True Blood Brothers”) marches into the middle of Peter Pan and bangs its tom-toms like a coded telegram. In the 1954 score, the duet between Peter and Tiger Lily sealed an alliance through rhythmic nonsense syllables; by 2025 the same cue survives in a rewritten skin, stripped of caricature yet still pulsing with ritual urgency. Audiences keep hunting for the Lyrics, theatres keep tussling with the ethics, and school orchestras still love that two-bar floor-drum riff.

Personal Review

First impression? A campfire that can’t decide whether it’s a war beat or a playground clap-game. The toms boom, a piccolo squeals like a night bird, and voices volley “Ugg-a-wugg wa!” with the gleeful menace of kids inventing their own army. I’ve played the score on upright piano; even reduced to bare chords the chant bites, then softens into a major-third cousin of “Auld Lang Syne.” Listen to Cathy Rigby’s 2000 cast album and you’ll hear brighter brass, tighter snare, but the same pulse that Mary Martin stamped into kinescope tape half a century earlier. One sentence summary: a two-minute blood-pact that rumbles like distant thunder and winks like kids in face-paint.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Dramaturgical task. The number closes Act I’s skirmish arc: Peter rescues Tiger Lily, they trade passwords (“beat on a drum — and I will come”), and the Lost Boys pound out solidarity. Underneath the silliness lies a plot device: a sonic pager the heroes will trigger if Hook attacks again.

Text and texture. Charlap’s lyric sheet splits into call-and-response couplets. Peter belts a phrase, the tribe echoes, creating instant camaraderie and—ironically—the kind of disciplined drill Barrie insisted his Lost Boys should never suffer. Musically, the piece marches in 2/4 at roughly 112 bpm; tom-tom accents fall on the off-beat to mimic “primitive” drum circles of 1950s Hollywood fantasy. A pentatonic hook keeps the ear hovering between major and modal, which Broadway listeners of the day decoded as “exotic.”

The controversy. By the late-1960s, critics flagged the lyric’s pseudo-Native babble (“brave noble redskin”, “gugg-a-bluck”) as a minstrel leftover. Complaints simmered until NBC’s live telecast Peter Pan Live! (Dec 4 2014) hired Chickasaw composer Jerod Tate to sanitize the scene. Tate and lyricist Amanda Green rewrote every syllable, retitled the cue “True Blood Brothers,” and secured approval from rights-holder MTI—now the only version shipped with school licenses.

The paradox? Producers preserved the martial rhythm but replaced nonsense with plain English, so the tune still courts “tribal” flavour minus the slur. Some directors cheer the compromise; others swap in the quieter lullaby “Peace on Neverland” or cut the scene entirely. The debate mirrors wider American theatre: heritage vs. nostalgia vs. box-office security.

“Beat on a drum — and I will come”

The only original English line survives every revision. Twelve monosyllables, a perfect military cadence, and the simplest promise of mutual aid in any children’s adventure.

Verse Highlights

Opening Chant

Four bars of pure onomatopoeia; director John Mooney once called it “Stephen Foster with a paint set.”

Middle Call (“Ubble wubble / When we get in trouble”)

Comic rhymes pivot the mood from war-paint to vaudeville, echoing minstrel buck-and-wing patterns.

Final Cadence (“We’ll be true blood brothers till the end”)

The 2014 text locks onto triadic harmony, nudging the music toward a Boy-Scout campfire and away from pastiche.

Song Credits

• Featured Vocalists (2000 Cast): Cathy Rigby, Drake English, Barry Cavanaugh, Scott Bridges, Elisa Sagardia, Dana Solimando
• Producer: John Yap
• Composers: Moose Charlap (music), Carolyn Leigh (lyrics) – revisions by Amanda Green (2014)
• Release Date (Rigby recording): November 14 2000
• Genre: Broadway / Show Tune / March-Chant
• Instruments: floor-tom, snare, piccolo, trombone growls, children’s choir
• Label: Jay Records
• Mood: Tribal-mock, boisterous
• Length: 2:10 (OBCR); 1:55 (“True Blood Brothers”)
• Track #: 10 on Peter Pan (Original Cast Soundtrack)
• Language: English (replaces earlier gibberish)
• Poetic meter: Mixed trochaic and amphibrachic feet
• Copyright: © 1954, 2000, 2014 Edwin H. Morris & Co / MTI

Songs Exploring Ritual Brotherhood

“Bloody Mary” – South Pacific (1949): Both numbers paint the “other” with bold strokes, yet Rodgers & Hammerstein wrap theirs in wistful jazz. Where “Ugg-a-Wugg” bangs fists, “Bloody Mary” sways on triplets—still exotic, but woozy, less war-ready.

“Hakuna Matata” – The Lion King (1997): Another call-and-response alliance born in crisis. The faux-Swahili hook echoes “Ugg-a-wugg wa,” yet Lebo M.’s Zulu chants were vetted by linguists, showing the 40-year leap in cultural sensitivity.

“Brotherhood of Man” – How to Succeed… (1961): Loesser’s corporate gospel turns male camaraderie into a board-room hymn. Play it after “Ugg-a-Wugg” and you’ll hear similar rhythmic clapping—but with pin-stripes instead of feathers.

Questions and Answers

Is the original “Ugg-a-Wugg” still legal to perform?

Yes, but MTI supplies the 2014 “True Blood Brothers” template by default. Producing the 1954 text now requires a special waiver.

Did the rewrite alter the melody?

No; Jerod Tate kept Charlap’s rhythmic shape, adjusting only a few passing tones to fit the English syllables.

Where can I hear the new version?

MTI’s rehearsal tracks for Peter Pan JR include it, and NBC’s 2014 cast album snippet circulates on promotional playlists.

How popular is the piece online?

In 2025 the most-watched clip (“Ugh-A-Wug | Peter Pan JR – with lyrics”) hovers around 35 k views—small next to “I Won’t Grow Up,” which breaks 250 k. Genius logs roughly 5.3 k page reads.

Why keep the song at all?

It propels plot mechanics (Peter’s rescue code) and provides a percussion showcase kids adore; cutting it leaves a pacing hole before Act II.

Awards and Chart Positions

The number itself never charted, but the 1954 cast LP reached Billboard’s Top 10 in April 1955, and NBC’s 2014 broadcast drew 9.2 million live viewers—enough to make the updated lyric the de-facto standard for licensing bodies.

How to Sing?

Range: B?3–E?5 (Peter); A3–C5 (Tiger Lily).
Breath: Use staggered inhalations on the eighth-note rests after each “wa.”
Articulation: Keep consonants percussive—think snare-drum flams.
Tempo: 110–114 bpm for school bands; Broadway pits push to 118.
Physicality: Slight crouch on every down-beat helps lock ensemble groove without resorting to stereotype gestures.

Fan and Media Reactions

“NBC’s switch to True Blood Brothers proves Broadway can evolve without losing sparkle.” – TIME

“I used to cringe at the chant; now my students belt it with pride.” – Drama-teacher blog comment

“Tate’s rewrite kept the heartbeat, ditched the red-face.” – Salon

“Honestly, I miss the nonsense syllables—but the new words are easier to memorize.” – YouTube viewer

“Proof that a problematic classic can be patched, not burned.” – Theatre Forum review