We were introduced to the music of Randall Goodgame through his Square Peg Alliance comrades, Andy Osenga and Andrew Peterson. Once again we have found a musician who cares deeply about his art and lets it reflect God’s glory. We’re still delving into his catalog of albums, but so far they haven’t disappointed!
The beginning of his album War and Peace is anchored by a trilogy devoted to the Peanuts gang. Goodgame was a big fan of Charlie Brown and his friends, and was saddened by the end of the strip and the death of its author. He set his mourning to music with three songs remembering Charles Schultz’s work.
Below are the lyrics to Part One of the trilogy. On our most recent trip to New England, we played this song no less than a dozen times. The kids LOVE it. They can’t get enough of it. It’s very catchy, as laden with piano riffs as you would expect from a song about Schroeder.
Side note: David loves this song for its reference to Harry Truman, who did play the piano quite often in the White House because he found that it set people at ease. I love it for the heartbreaking line about Peppermint Patty never being able to compete with the Little Red-Haired Girl — perhaps a leftover sentiment from my days as a Girl, Friend to Boys but never a Boy’s Girlfriend.
It may sound funny but I cried
The day I found out Schroeder died
Little green piano on the floor
Won’t be making music anymore
You know he was the catcher for the team
But he only threw to second in his dreams
For those little arms it was just too far to throw
But put those arms behind that piano
And he’d play like Harry Truman
Without those coke bottles
That only Marcie wore
Like Harry Truman
Without the atom bomb
Without the burden of a third world war
Lucy was fragile as a castle in the sand
But tough as a tuba, with a mean right hand
She always wore that same blue dress
‘Cause she fancied Schroeder liked that color best
She’d watch him hurry home most every afternoon
Blonde hair bobbin’ to the beat of a Gershwin tune
Soon his Mama’d cry, “Your supper’s turnin’ cold.”
But he’d fill up on Beethoven
Underneath that bust of painted gold
And he’d play like Harry Truman
Without those coke bottles
That only Marcie wore
Like Harry Truman
Without the atom bomb
Without the burden of a third world war
Oooh la la oooo
Lucy had a crush on Schroeder
Oooh la la oooo
Sally had a crush on Linus
Oooh la la leee
But Peppermint Patty, with those flip-flops
And without a single curl
Could not compete with the little red-haired girl
Charlie Brown, Charlie Brown
What’s it like in God’s hometown
Do the angels make Lucy hold the football down
Is every cartoon a full-color affair
Since every day is just like Sunday there
And when Schroeder plays Beethoven’s Number Nine
Does Snoopy still dance
Does Lucy still pine
Everybody dies, but still it always seems too soon
So I shed a tear for this cartoon
Yeah he’d play like Harry Truman
Without those coke bottles
That only Marcie wore
Like Harry Truman
Without the atom bomb
Without the burden of a third world war
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