Royal Guardsmen – Snoopy’s Christmas

This is a new Christmas write-up for me…and I listened to this song a lot as a kid. As a child, I did have the single Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron by The Royal Guardsmen. Later on, I found another Royal Guardsmen record in my cousin’s collection. She gave it to me and it was this one. I loved the Peanuts as a kid and as an adult. This song was brought up by a conversation that Obbverse and I had and I wanted to get it out there.

I never realized that this song has a basis in reality. The song is actually based on The Christmas Truce in WW1 in 1914. The Christmas Truce was an actual event in 1914 during World War I when German and Allied soldiers temporarily ceased hostilities. They sang carols, exchanged small gifts, and even played soccer. While Snoopy and the Red Baron’s interaction is of course fictional, the truce symbolizes the capacity for kindness in chaos.

The song peaked at #1 in New Zealand, #1 in Australia, and #39 in Canada. Per Wiki: Charted 3 times in the US – 1967, 1968, and 1969 reaching #1, #15, and #11 respectively but only on Billboard’s “Best Bets For Christmas” chart.

They were not a one-hit wonder. The follow-up single to their #2 Snoopy and the Red Baron was The Return of the Red Baron which reached #15. Despite their success, the band faced legal challenges since they didn’t have permission from Charles Schulz or United Features Syndicate to use Snoopy. The licensing disputes were resolved, and the band continued to produce Snoopy-themed songs…over and over and over. This song was written by George David Weiss, Hugo Peretti, and Luigi Creatore.

Snoopy’s Christmas

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum
Do kannst mir sehr gefallen!

The news had come out in the First World War
The bloody Red Baron was flying once more
The Allied command ignored all of its men
And called on Snoopy to do it again

Was the night before Christmas, 40 below
When Snoopy went up in search of his foe
He spied the Red Baron, fiercely they fought
With ice on his wings Snoopy knew he was caught

Christmas bells those Christmas bells
Ring out from the land
Asking peace of all the world
And good will to man

The Baron had Snoopy dead in his sights
He reached for the trigger to pull it up tight
Why he didn’t shoot, well, we’ll never know
Or was it the bells from the village below?

Christmas bells those Christmas bells
Ringing through the land
Bringing peace to all the world
And good will to man

The Baron made Snoopy fly to the Rhine
And forced him to land behind the enemy lines
Snoopy was certain that this was the end
When the Baron cried out, “Merry Christmas, mein friend!”

The Baron then offered a holiday toast
And Snoopy, our hero, saluted his host
And then with a roar they were both on their way
Each knowing they’d meet on some other day

Christmas bells those Christmas bells
Ringing through the land
Bringing peace to all the world
And good will to man

Christmas bells those Christmas bells
Ringing through the land
Bringing peace to all the world
And good will to man

Christmas bells those Christmas bells
Ringing through the land

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

34 thoughts on “Royal Guardsmen – Snoopy’s Christmas”

  3. I love this song. The chorus is so easy to sing along with. I like this one better than Snoopy VS the Red Baron.

    We’re both on a “Peanuts” page today, Max. Today is the 59th anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas….

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  8. My favorite of the three “Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron” songs. I remember a friend of mine and I acting this one out. His Mom thought we were crazy. I could have told her that, and we were having fun.

    I love the story of the Christmas Day Truce. The thing was, they were just kids, all the soldiers in the foxholes. Even the officers were young. I don’t think there was one of them that wanted to kill anybody, on Christmas or any other day.

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  9. No doubt about its singalongability, if that’s a word. It lives on in NZ; you can’t turn on the car radio without hearing this song for the best part of December, even if its’ just a ten minute jaunt. I never realised it was released three years in a row in the US. The record company must love Christmas, and the remaining Guardsmen must merrily love the residuals! Also, thanks for the link Max.

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  12. Thanks for the history lesson on the truce. You can bet your life that didn’t happen in WWII. This is how much I loved Snoopy back then. I had a plaid wool coat with a green velvet collar when I was little. It was my “good” coat for church and holidays. It had a matching green velvet hat that tied under the chin. I hated wearing that hat, but my brother got me to wear it because he said it looked like Snoopy’s flying helmet. He also made a big Snoopy cookie for me one Christmas, cutting it by hand of him in profile, like he was lying on his doghouse, with blue icing for his ear, nose and paw. I never ate it, just showed it off to people.

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    1. I love that stuff….Oh I love the Peanuts…in my garage I have around 10 tubs of vintage Peanuts items like watches, ceramics, and others I got around 1998 or so at vintage stores, flea markets, and yard sales…

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      1. I mainly have the paperback collections of the strips, and some hardcover books too. I have some little figures of Charlie Brown and Snoopy with his doghouse that my mother got from Avon. I think they had shampoo or bubble bath in them.

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      2. I have some of those as well. Yes I have the Avon one also and the avon Schroeder… I bought all of this stuff and then Charles Shultz passed away…I stopped collecting after that time…once in a while I’ll get something.

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      3. The only other thing I have which may be kind of rare, are some embroidered patches with five of the characters on them. They were a one-time offer from Millbrook Bread because Peanuts used to be on their commercials. I never sewed them on anything, and they’re still in the little envelope they were mailed in.

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