You 're a mean one, Mr. Grinch - wikipedia You 're a mean one, Mr. Grinch `` You 're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch '' is a children 's Christmas song that was originally written and composed for the 1966 cartoon special How the Grinch Stole Christmas ! Contents 1 History 2 See also 3 References 4 External links History The lyrics were written by Theodor `` Dr. Seuss '' Geisel, the music was composed by Albert Hague, and the song was performed by Thurl Ravenscroft. The song 's lyrics describe the Grinch as being foul, bad - mannered and sinister, using increasingly creative put - downs, metaphors and similes, beginning with the opening line `` you 're a mean one, Mr. Grinch ''. Because Ravenscroft was not credited in the closing credits of the special, it is often mistakenly attributed to Boris Karloff, who served as narrator and the voice of the Grinch in the special but who himself could not sing. Until Ravenscroft was publicly credited, Tennessee Ernie Ford was also speculated to be the voice behind the song. Mainstream and pop acts have covered the song, usually for holiday - themed albums. In 1992, an emerging alternative band from New Jersey named Whirling Dervishes covered the song for their Wish it Would Snow EP. Their cover version took on a cult status in the region and went on to outlast the band 's existence eventually becoming one of their only breakthrough hits. The song is still requested regionally during the holidays. American singer and drag queen RuPaul covered the song for his 1997 Christmas album Ho Ho Ho, which incorporated elements from funk. Billboard 's Melinda Newman negatively responded to RuPaul 's version, writing that `` he should have left ( it ) alone ''. In 2013 another New Jersey band, Misfits covered the song for Christmas - themed seven - inch promotion. See also Grammy Award for Best Album for Children References Jump up ^ Green, Joey ( 2012 ). Weird and Wonderful Christmas : Curious and Crazy Customs and Coincidences from Around the World. Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc. p. 145. ISBN 978 - 1 - 57912 - 924 - 8. Jump up ^ McCracken, Elizabeth ( 2005 - 12 - 25 ). `` Our Cereal Hero ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 2009 - 12 - 27. Jump up ^ Acampora, Rob ( 2011 - 11 - 29 ). `` Jersey Band Forever Tied to Character Who Turns 45 This Year ''. SOJO 104.9. Retrieved 2017 - 04 - 07. Jump up ^ Smith, Shawnee ( December 1998 ). `` RuPaul ' Vh - 1 Presents RuPaul : Ho Ho Ho ' ''. Vibe. Eldridge Industries. Archived from the original on April 10, 2017. Jump up ^ Newman, Melinda ( December 6, 1997 ). `` Fresh from Santa 's Music Workshop : Some Sets For The Naughty, Most Nice ''. Billboard. Eldridge Industries. Archived from the original on April 10, 2017. Jump up ^ Gentile, John ( 2013 - 12 - 22 ). `` Misfits cover Mr. Grinch ''. Punknews.org. Retrieved 2017 - 04 - 07. External links Lyrics to `` You 're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch '' ( TV version ) Lyrics to `` You 're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch '' ( Soundtrack version ) Dr. Seuss ' How the Grinch Stole Christmas ! Characters Grinch Book How the Grinch Stole Christmas ! ( 1957 ) Music `` You 're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch '' ( 1966 ) Adaptations Dr. Seuss ' How the Grinch Stole Christmas ! ( 1966 ) ( 1966, TV special ) Halloween Is Grinch Night ( 1977, TV special ) The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat ( 1982, TV special ) Dr. Seuss ' How the Grinch Stole Christmas ! The Musical ( 1994 ) Dr. Seuss ' How the Grinch Stole Christmas ( live - action film ) ( 2000 ) Dr. Seuss ' How the Grinch Stole Christmas ( animated film ) ( 2018 ) Related Dr. Seuss Memorial Dr. Seuss Characters The Cat in the Hat The Grinch Horton the Elephant Bartholomew Cubbins Bibliography And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins The King 's Stilts The Seven Lady Godivas Horton Hatches the Egg McElligot 's Pool Thidwick the Big - Hearted Moose Bartholomew and the Oobleck If I Ran the Zoo Scrambled Eggs Super ! Horton Hears a Who ! On Beyond Zebra ! If I Ran the Circus How the Grinch Stole Christmas ! The Cat in the Hat The Cat in the Hat Comes Back Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories Happy Birthday to You ! Green Eggs and Ham One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish The Sneetches and Other Stories Dr. Seuss 's Sleep Book Dr. Seuss 's ABC Fox in Socks Hop on Pop I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew Come over to My House The Foot Book I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today ! and Other Stories Mr. Brown Can Moo ! Can You ? : Dr. Seuss 's Book of Wonderful Noises ! The Lorax Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now ! Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are ? Wacky Wednesday Great Day for Up ! Oh, the Thinks You Can Think ! The Cat 's Quizzer I Can Read with My Eyes Shut ! Oh Say Can You Say ? The Butter Battle Book You 're Only Old Once ! Oh, the Places You 'll Go ! There 's a Wocket in My Pocket I Wish That I Had Duck Feet Daisy - Head Mayzie My Many Colored Days Hooray for Diffendoofer Day ! The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories Horton and the Kwuggerbug and More Lost Stories What Pet Should I Get ? Adaptations Television The Gerald McBoing - Boing Show ( 1956 -- 57 ) Dr. Seuss ' How the Grinch Stole Christmas ! ( 1966 ) Horton Hears a Who ! ( 1970 ) The Cat in the Hat ( 1971 ) The Lorax ( 1972 ) Dr. Seuss on the Loose ( 1973 ) The Hoober - Bloob Highway ( 1975 ) Halloween Is Grinch Night ( 1977 ) Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You ? ( 1980 ) The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat ( 1982 ) The Butter Battle Book ( 1989 ) In Search of Dr. Seuss ( 1994 ) Daisy - Head Mayzie ( 1995 ) The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss ( 1996 -- 98 ) Gerald McBoing - Boing ( 2005 -- 07 ) The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That ! ( 2010 -- present ) Green Eggs and Ham ( 2018 ) Film Horton Hatches the Egg ( short ; 1942 ) Gerald McBoing - Boing ( short ; 1950 ) How the Grinch Stole Christmas ( 2000 ) The Cat in the Hat ( 2003 ) Horton Hears a Who ! ( 2008 ) The Lorax ( 2012 ) How the Grinch Stole Christmas ( 2018 ) Other media Welcome ( Russian short film ) Seussical ( musical ) Dr. Seuss ' How the Grinch Stole Christmas ! The Musical The Grinch ( video game ) Dr. Seuss : How the Grinch Stole Christmas ! ( video game ) `` You 're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch '' ( song ) The Lorax ( play ) Other works Private Snafu The Pocket Book of Boners Your Job in Germany Our Job in Japan Design for Death The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T Hejji Society of Red Tape Cutters Flit Related A Fish out of Water Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum Beginner Books Dr. Seuss Goes to War The Secret Art of Dr. Seuss Dr. Seuss National Memorial Geisel Award Geisel Library Geisel School of Medicine Helen Palmer Geisel PM Political messages of Dr. Seuss Read Across America Seuss Landing as `` Theo. LeSieg ''. Posthumous. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=You%27re_a_Mean_One,_Mr._Grinch&oldid=801319173 '' Categories : American Christmas songs Works by Dr. Seuss 1966 songs Christmas novelty songs Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 19 September 2017, at 00 : 06. About Wikipedia

Question: who sang you're a mean one mr.grinch in the iconic 1966 animated tv short
Answer: Thurl Ravenscroft