" You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch " is a Christmas song that was originally written and composed for the 1966 animated special Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! [ 1 ] The lyrics were written by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel , the music was composed by Albert Hague , and the song was performed by Thurl Ravenscroft . 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 and occasionally sang, but not in this instance. Until Ravenscroft was publicly credited, Tennessee Ernie Ford was also speculated to be the voice behind the song. [ 2 ] The soundtrack to the special won the Grammy Award for Best Album for Children at the 10th Annual Grammy Awards . The song has been incorporated into most other adaptations of the story. In the 2000 live-action film , Jim Carrey performs the song in character as the Grinch, singing about himself and in the soundtrack in two versions along with the hip-hop version with American rapper Busta Rhymes and Carrey rapping about the Grinch titled: "Grinch 2000" which samples the original song. [ 3 ] The stage musical adaptation included the song in the score, among several other original numbers composed specifically for that production. The 2018 CGI animated film features a substantially updated version of the song from Tyler, the Creator [ 4 ] featuring an orchestral arrangement by Danny Elfman . The song was also covered by New Jersey alternative rock band the Whirling Dervishes . [ 5 ] Writer Chris Jordan of the Asbury Park Press called their version "wonderfully depraved in the best of holiday ways" and noted that their version became a "Jersey classic". [ 6 ] Other artists who have recorded versions include Lindsey Stirling with Sabrina Carpenter who hit number 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Glee cast version Thurl Ravenscroft version Lindsey Stirling and Sabrina Carpenter version ↑ 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 . ↑ McCracken, Elizabeth (December 25, 2005). "Our Cereal Hero" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on November 15, 2012 . Retrieved December 27, 2009 . ↑ "THAT TIME JIM CARREY RAPPED AS THE GRINCH WITH BUSTA RHYMES" . Mel. December 2, 2021. ↑ Klinkenberg, Brendan (October 24, 2018). "Tyler, the Creator Updates 'You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch' and It's… Pretty Good?" . Rolling Stone . Retrieved November 23, 2018 . ↑ Acampora, Rob (November 29, 2011). "Jersey Band Forever Tied to Character Who Turns 45 This Year" . SoJO 104.9 . Retrieved December 5, 2021 . ↑ "The 10 greatest Jersey Christmas songs of all time" . MSN. Archived from the original on December 5, 2021 . Retrieved December 5, 2021 . ↑ "Glee Cast Chart History (Holiday Digital Song Sales)" . Billboard . Retrieved November 7, 2020 . ↑ "Billboard Hot 100: Week of January 3, 2026" . Billboard . Retrieved December 31, 2025 . ↑ "Billboard Global 200: Week of January 3, 2026" . Billboard . Retrieved December 31, 2025 . ↑ " "DIGiTop100" gada izskaņas topā svētku dziesmas uzvar teju visus muzikālos smagsvarus" [ Christmas songs beat almost all musical heavyweights in DIGiTop100 at the end of the year ] (in Latvian). Skaties.lv [ lv ] . January 3, 2018 . Retrieved April 17, 2025 . ↑ "Billboard Hot 100: Week of December 31, 2022" . Billboard . Retrieved December 28, 2022 . ↑ "Thurl Ravenscroft Chart History (Holiday 100)" . Billboard . Retrieved December 30, 2020 . ↑ "Top 100 Songs" . Rolling Stone . December 24, 2020. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021 . Retrieved December 30, 2020 . ↑ " Lindsey Stirling Chart History (Adult Contemporary) ". Billboard . Retrieved July 7, 2025. Lyrics to "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" (TV version) Lyrics to "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" (Soundtrack version) Archived December 24, 2018, at the Wayback Machine How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1957) How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966 TV special) How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical (1994) How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000 live-action film) The Grinch (2018 animated film) The Grinch Musical Live! (2020 TV special) The Grinch GBC (2000) Dr. Seuss: How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (2007) Halloween Is Grinch Night (1977 TV special) The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat (1982 TV special) " You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch " (1966) How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000 soundtrack) " Green Christmas " " Lonely Christmas Eve " " Where Are You Christmas? " " Green Christmas " " Lonely Christmas Eve " " Where Are You Christmas? " The Grinch (soundtrack and score) (2018) Music Inspired by Illumination & Dr. Seuss' The Grinch (2018) Dr. Seuss Memorial How the Sith Stole Christmas (2002) Horton and the Kwuggerbug and More Lost Stories The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss The Mean One (2022) Horton the Elephant 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 The Cat in the Hat How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Cat in the Hat Comes Back Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories Happy Birthday to You! One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish Green Eggs and Ham The Sneetches and Other Stories Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book Dr. Seuss's ABC I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew I Wish That I Had Duck Feet 1 Come over to My House 1 I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today! and Other Stories My Book about ME Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?: Dr. Seuss's Book of Wonderful Noises! Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now! Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? The Shape of Me and Other Stuff There's a Wocket in My Pocket! Great Day for Up! Wacky Wednesday 1 Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! The Cat's Quizzer I Can Read with My Eyes Shut! Oh Say Can You Say? Hunches in Bunches The Butter Battle Book You're Only Old Once! I Am Not Going to Get Up Today! Oh, the Places You'll Go! Daisy-Head Mayzie 2 My Many Colored Days 2 Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! 2 The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories 2 Horton and the Kwuggerbug and More Lost Stories 2 What Pet Should I Get? 2 Sing the 50 United States! 2 The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss (1996–1998) Gerald McBoing-Boing (2005–2007) The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! (2010–2018) episodes Green Eggs and Ham (2019–2022) Dr. Seuss's Red Fish, Blue Fish (2025–present) Dr. Seuss's Horton! (2025–present)

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) In Search of Dr. Seuss (1994) Daisy-Head Mayzie (1995) The Sneetches (2025) 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) The Grinch (2018) The Cat in the Hat (2026; upcoming) Dr. Seuss' Fix-Up the Mix-Up Puzzler (1984) The Grinch GBC (2000) The Cat in the Hat (2003) Dr. Seuss: How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (2007) Welcome (Russian short film) Seussical (musical) Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical " You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch " (song) The Cat in the Hat (play) The Lorax (musical) Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical Live! (musical) The Cat in the Hat (musical) Dr. Seuss's ABC (musical) The Pocket Book of Boners Your Job in Germany Our Job in Japan Design for Death The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. Society of Red Tape Cutters Helen Palmer (first wife) A Fish Out of Water Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum Dr. Seuss Enters., L.P. v. Penguin Books USA, Inc. Dr. Seuss Goes to War The Secret Art of Dr. Seuss Dr. Seuss National Memorial Geisel School of Medicine Political messages of Dr. Seuss Read Across America Production discography Awards and nominations Call Me If You Get Lost Don't Tap the Glass Music Inspired by Illumination & Dr. Seuss' The Grinch " Fucking Young / Perfect " " Who Dat Boy " " 911 / Mr. Lonely " " I Ain't Got Time! " " See You Again " " Potato Salad " " Best Interest " " Sorry Not Sorry " " Ring Ring Ring " " Sugar on My Tongue " " Trouble on My Mind " " Telephone Calls " " After the Storm " " Cash In Cash Out " " Thought I Was Dead " " Martians vs. Goblins " " You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch " " Igor's Theme " " New Magic Wand " " A Boy Is a Gun " " Gone, Gone / Thank You " " Sweet / I Thought You Wanted to Dance " " Here We Go... Again " " Rah Tah Tah " Mountain Dew goat commercials Big Mouth (American TV series) Call Me If You Get Lost Tour Chromakopia: The World Tour Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival Odd Future ( The OF Tape Vol. 2 ) Odd Future Records I Smell Panties ( I Smell Panties EP ) Illegal Civilization MusicBrainz work American Christmas songs Works by Dr. Seuss American novelty songs Christmas novelty songs Songs about fictional male characters Songs written for films Music based on short fiction Tyler, the Creator songs The Grinch (franchise) Music based on works by Dr. Seuss Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Use mdy dates from December 2017 CS1 Latvian-language sources (lv) Single chart usages for Billboardadultcontemporary Single chart called without song Webarchive template wayback links