Born and raised in San Diego, California, RuPaul later studied performing arts in Atlanta, Georgia. He settled in New York City, where he became a popular fixture on the LGBTQ+ nightclub scene. He achieved international fame as a drag queen with the release of his debut single, "Supermodel (You Better Work)", which was included on his debut studio album Supermodel of the World (1993). He became a spokesperson for MAC Cosmetics in 1994, raising money for the Mac AIDS Fund and becoming the first drag queen to land a major cosmetics campaign. He later received his own talk show on VH1 called The RuPaul Show, which he hosted for over 100 episodes while co-hosting the morning radio show on WKTU with Michelle Visage.
RuPaul's Drag Race was created in 2009 and has gone on to produce fourteen seasons in the United States. The show has also seen success internationally, with several international variants of the show being made, such as RuPaul's Drag Race UK and Canada's Drag Race. This has also inspired several spin-offs of the main show, including RuPaul's Drag U, RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars, and RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race. He is also featured as a host on other reality television series such as Skin Wars, Good Work, and Gay for Play Game Show Starring RuPaul.
RuPaul has made appearances in films such as Crooklyn (1994), The Brady Bunch Movie (1995), To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995), But I'm a Cheerleader (1999), television shows such as Girlboss (2017), Broad City (2017), and Grace and Frankie (2019). He later created and starred in his own Netflix original television series AJ and the Queen (2020). In addition, he has also published three books: Lettin' It All Hang Out (1995), Workin' It! RuPaul's Guide to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Style (2010), and GuRu (2018).
RuPaul is considered the most commercially successful drag queen in the United States. For his work on RuPaul's Drag Race, he has received 12 Primetime Emmy Awards, becoming the most-awarded person of color in the history of the Primetime Emmys. Outside of film and television, he also continues to write and record music; he has released fourteen studio albums as of 2022, and received a Tony Award for Best Musical as a producer for the musical A Strange Loop.
You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch
RuPaul Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You really are a heel
You're as cuddly as a cactus
You're as charming as an eel
Mr. Grinch!
You're a bad banana
With a greasy black peel!
Your heart's an empty hole
Your brain is full of spiders
You've got garlic in your soul
Mr. Grinch!
I wouldn't touch you
With a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole!
You're a vile one, Mr. Grinch!
You have termites in your smile
You have all the tender sweetness
Of a seasick crocodile
Mr. Grinch!
Given the choice between the two of you
I'd take the seasick crocodile!
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. Grinch!
The three words that best describe you
Are as follows, and I quote
"Stink, stank, stunk!"
You're a rotter, Mr. Grinch!
You're the king of sinful sots!
Your heart's a dead tomato
Splotched with moldy, purple spots
Mr. Grinch!
Your soul is an apalling dump-heap
Overflowing with the most disgraceful
Assortment of deplorable rubbish imaginable
Mangled-up in tangled-up knots!
You nauseate me, Mr. Grinch!
With a nauseous super naus!
You're a crooked jerky jockey
And you drive a crooked hoss
Mr. Grinch!
You're a three-decker sauerkraut
And toadstool sandwich
With arsenic sauce!
RuPaul's "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" is a playful take on the character of the Grinch from Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The song is full of disparaging comments about the Grinch's character, most notably his small, cold heart, his disagreeable odor and appearance, and his overall unfriendly behavior. The song is filled with colorful descriptions, painting the Grinch as a creature to be avoided at all costs. Despite all his faults, the song ultimately recognizes that the Grinch is still capable of change and redemption. It holds out hope that the Grinch can become a better, kinder person if he so chooses.
Line by Line Meaning
You're a mean one, Mr Grinch
You're a cruel and unpleasant person, Mr. Grinch
You really are a heel
You're really unpleasant and devious
You're as cuddly as a cactus
You're unapproachable and prickly like a cactus
You're as charming as an eel
You're sneaky and slimy like an eel
Mr. Grinch!
Addressing the titular character
You're a bad banana
You're a rotten person
With a greasy black peel!
Your exterior is as unappealing as your interior
You're a monster, Mr. Grinch!
You're a terrifying and awful person, Mr. Grinch
Your heart's an empty hole
You have no compassion or love in your heart
Your brain is full of spiders
Your mind is twisted and filled with evil thoughts and intentions
You've got garlic in your soul
You're corrupted and unpleasant to the core
Mr. Grinch!
Addressing the titular character
I wouldn't touch you
I wouldn't have anything to do with you
With a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole!
I wouldn't come near you even with a long pole
You're a vile one, Mr. Grinch!
You're a disgustingly unpleasant person, Mr. Grinch
You have termites in your smile
Your smile is insincere and is hiding something malicious
You have all the tender sweetness
You lack any sort of kindness or sweetness
Of a seasick crocodile
Comparing the unpleasantness of Mr. Grinch with a nauseous and unpleasant crocodile
Mr. Grinch!
Addressing the titular character
Given the choice between the two of you
If I had to choose between the two options
I'd take the seasick crocodile!
I would choose the less unpleasant option
You're a foul one, Mr. Grinch!
You're morally reprehensible and unpleasant, Mr. Grinch
You're a nasty, wasty skunk!
You're a dirty and despicable person
Your heart is full of unwashed socks
You're unpleasant and dirty on the inside
Your soul is full of gunk
Your soul is corrupt and tarnished
Mr. Grinch!
Addressing the titular character
The three words that best describe you
The most suitable words to describe you
Are as follows, and I quote
These are the exact words to describe you
"Stink, stank, stunk!"
You have a foul and unpleasant smell
You're a rotter, Mr. Grinch!
You're a dishonest and untrustworthy person, Mr. Grinch
You're the king of sinful sots!
You're the worst of the worst
Your heart's a dead tomato
You have no heart, or your heart is in a terrible state
Splotched with moldy, purple spots
Your heart is corrupted, decaying, and deteriorated
Mr. Grinch!
Addressing the titular character
Your soul is an appalling dump-heap
Your soul is full of unpleasant and undesirable things
Overflowing with the most disgraceful
It's full of the worst kind of things
Assortment of deplorable rubbish imaginable
The collection of disgusting things couldn't be any worse
Mangled-up in tangled-up knots!
Completely jumbled and confused beyond repair
You nauseate me, Mr. Grinch!
You make me sick and disgusted, Mr. Grinch
With a nauseous super naus!
You're extremely unpleasant, nauseating, and repulsive
You're a crooked jerky jockey
You're dishonest and crooked, like a shady horse jockey
And you drive a crooked hoss
You're deceitful and corrupt
Mr. Grinch!
Addressing the titular character
You're a three-decker sauerkraut
You're an unpleasant and unappetizing sandwich
And toadstool sandwich
You're even more unappetizing than a sandwich containing poisonous mushrooms
With arsenic sauce!
Your unpleasantness is only compounded by being served with poison
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Albert Hague, Theodor S. Geisel
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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