You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch



"" is a song whose music was written by and lyrics penned by (a/k/a "Dr. Seuss") for the animated adaptation of Geisel's book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! This song has been a classic favorite of all Grinch fans everywhere. Made popular by the late Thurl Ravenscroft (best known for his vocal talents as mascot ), it made its mark with children and the young at heart who still remember the classic Dr. Seuss character. This song was originally going to be sung by Boris Karloff, but instead sung by Thurl Ravenscroft, due to Karloff's only narration.

In the movie of the same title, Jim Carrey sang his own rendition, and on Radio Disney, a rock version of the song (performed by Korn) used to be played during the Christmas holidays.

Lyrics
Dr. Seuss wanted to make certain that the Grinch was not to be liked, even though he was the main character in the animated special, so he thought up the most disgusting descriptions about him. The song plays in three parts in the animated cartoon.

The first two verses are played when the Grinch is creating his Santa suit:


 * You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch
 * You really are a heel
 * You're as cuddly as a cactus
 * And as charming as an eel, Mr. Gri-inch...
 * You're a bad banana with a greasy black peel.


 * You're a monster, Mr. Grinch
 * Your heart's an empty hole
 * Your brain is full of spiders
 * You've got garlic in your soul, Mr. Gri-inch...
 * I wouldn't touch you with a 39½-foot pole!

The second two verses are played when he is in the first of the Whos' houses.


 * You're a vile one, Mr. Grinch
 * You have termites in your smile
 * You have all the tender sweetness
 * Of a seasick crocodile, Mr. Gri-inch...
 * Given the choice between the two of you,
 * I'd take the seasick crocodile!


 * You're a rotter, Mr. Grinch
 * You're the King of Sinful Sots
 * Your heart's a dead tomato splotch
 * With moldy purple spots, Mr. Gri-inch...
 * You're a three-decker sauerkraut and toadstool sandwich with arsenic sauce!

The last two verses play later, as the Grinch continues his theft spree through the other Whos' houses.


 * You nauseate me, Mr. Grinch
 * With a nauseous super "Naus"
 * You're a crooked, jerky jockey
 * And you drive a crooked "Hoss", Mr. Gri-inch...
 * Your soul is an appalling dung heap,
 * Overflowing with the most disgraceful assortment of rubbish imaginable,
 * Mangled up in tangled-up knots!


 * You're a foul one, Mr. Grinch
 * You're a nasty-wasty skunk
 * Your heart is full of unwashed socks
 * Your soul is full of gunk, Mr. Gri-inch...
 * The three words that best describe you are as follows, and I quote:
 * "Stink... stank... stunk!"

Notably, the version of the song featured on the adjacent album release rearranges the order of the lyrics in the later three verses. Verses four and five have their last lines switched around, and also, the fourth verse switches places entirely with the sixth verse. Also, the closing lines of the fifth verse are modified to "most disgraceful assortment of deplorable rubbish imaginable."