Poor Sweet Baby Lyrics - Snoopy

Song Overview

“Poor Sweet Baby” finds Pamela Myers sliding effortlessly from teasing sarcasm to big-hearted comfort, the way only a Peanuts kid could. First heard in December 9, 1975 on the Snoopy!!! The Musical cast album, the song’s show-tune bounce helped the production earn a West End run and, eventually, an Olivier nomination.

The track clocks in at roughly 3 minutes 3 seconds, but its afterglow has lasted five decades: Faith Hill crooned it on CBS’s Here’s to You, Charlie Brown: 50 Great Years in 2000, and college revivals—Texas State’s The World According to Snoopy among them—keep sliding fresh air under its wings.

Song Credits

• Featured: James Gleason (dialogue), Pamela Myers (vocals)
• Producers: Larry Grossman, Jim Ed Norman
• Composer: Larry Grossman
• Lyricist: Hal Hackady
• Release Date: December 9, 1975
• Genre: Show tune / Pop-theatre
• Instruments: Keyboards, piano, bass, drums, pit-woodwinds, brass, strings
• Label: DRG Records (LP 6013)
• Mood: Playful yet disarmingly tender
• Length: 3 : 03
• Track #: 15 of 20 (original cast LP)
• Language: English
• Album: Snoopy!!! The Musical — Original Cast Recording
• Music style: Tin-Pan-Alley-tinged Broadway shuffle
• Poetic meter: Mostly trochaic with an anapestic lift in the tag line
• Copyrights: © 1975 Charles M. Schulz / Peanuts Worldwide; ? 1975 DRG Records

Song Meaning and Annotations

The melody bowls in with rag-doll swagger—piano stride, brushed snare, a wink of trumpet—mirroring Peppermint Patty’s bravado. Yet every “Poor sweet baby” lands softer than the last, revealing the crush she’s too proud to admit. It’s power-pop empathy wrapped in a playground jump-rope chant.

Structurally, Grossman and Hackady fuse vaudeville “show-and-tell” patter with a lounge-ballad bridge. The opening’s seesaw rhythm lets Patty needle Charlie Brown (“Show me where it hurts…”), while the bridge (“Just try me, cry me…”) drops to half-time, like a secret whispered behind the bleachers.

Context matters: the lyric lifts almost verbatim from Schulz’s April 8 1973 strip, and in the 1988 TV special Patty literally shoves Chuck aside after singing—physical comedy masking vulnerability.

“Why deny me / the pleasure of dryin’ ’em?”

The couplet flips standard courtship; Patty volunteers for emotional labor, a sly comment on how girls in Schulz’s universe (and the ’70s at large) often mother the boy they fancy.

Verse 1

Quick four-bar vamp, Patty catalogues her “loving cups” for caring—bragging, but only because bragging feels safer than blurting I like you.

Chorus

Each repetition of “Poor, poor, sweet, sweet baby” tugs a semitone upward, tightening the heart-string before she snaps back with the comic button “Forget it, Chuck!”

Bridge

The unexpected minor-four chord on “Don’t despair” shades the optimism, foreshadowing Patty’s self-sabotage.

Similar Songs

1. “Adelaide’s Lament” – Vivian Blaine (Guys and Dolls, 1950)
   Both numbers place a tough-talking woman under the microscope of her own insecurities. Adelaide sneezes through psychosomatic heartbreak; Patty double-downs on bravado. Each uses comic lists (symptoms / trophies) to cloak longing, before pivoting to quiet confession.
2. “I Can Do That” – Wayne Cilento (A Chorus Line, 1975)
   Groove-wise, both ride percussive piano and walking bass. Where Mike brags about nailing tap steps, Patty flaunts emotional first aid. The songs share that ’70s Broadway pop-funk sheen and kid-like storytelling cadence.
3. “When He Sees Me” – Jessie Mueller (Waitress, 2016)
   Jenna’s anxiety spiral (“what if he sees me…”) echoes Patty’s “it’ll never happen!” dodge. Harmonically, both toggle between major hope and minor doubt, letting the performer oscillate from comedic chatter to throat-catching sincerity.

Questions and Answers

Why wasn’t “Poor Sweet Baby” released as a commercial single?

The show’s producers opted for a full-album strategy; cast LPs sold to theatre fans, while singles rarely charted for stage musicals in 1975.

Did the song ever chart?

No specific chart entries exist; however, the Snoopy!!! cast LP enjoys steady streaming numbers and periodic CD reissues.

Is Faith Hill’s 2000 rendition different?

Hill transposed the key down a whole step, added pedal-steel guitar, and stretched the bridge for a country-pop swell suited to network TV.

Has the lyric ever been translated?

Yes. The 1983 Madrid staging featured “Pobre bebé,” maintaining the trochaic pulse while softening consonants for Spanish scansion.

What’s the hardest vocal moment?

The octave leap on the final “Mama’s here!” demands precision; mis-pitch it and the joke flat-lines.

Awards and Chart Positions

• West End Production: Nominated for Olivier Award, Musical of the Year (1983 season).
• Teddy Kempner: Actor of the Year in a Musical nomination for his Snoopy.

Fan and Media Reactions

“We actually had Charles Schulz in rehearsal…it was a wonderful experience all around.”— Pamela Myers interview, Cartoon Research

“When I start the song, Patty is embarrassed…at the end she turns and gives him a zinger!”— Myers on the song’s acting arc

“A show for all ages and all seasons!”— Mark Shenton, WhatsOnStage

“Effervescent…Grossman’s melodies provide the playful glue.”— Joel Hirschhorn, Variety

“Snoopy is a nice intro for young people to the delights of musical theatre.”— Joe Stead, Chicago Stage Standard