Singled Out: Laura Warshauer's I Love You Mr. Grinch

I remember loving the book Tom Sawyer when I was in middle school. One day, we got to watch a movie that was about the characters as if they were all grown up and what had happened to them. Oftentimes, when I read a great book or see a movie that I really like, I find myself so taken with the story and the protagonists, that I'm actually sad when it's over. Writing this song, "I Love You, Mr. Grinch" was my way of continuing the famous Christmas classic that we all know and love, Dr. Seuss' "When the Grinch Stole Christmas". I pretended I was the little girl in the story, Cindy Lou Who, as if I was all grown up and had secretly harbored a crush on Mr. Grinch for years. This was just a fun story to tell, and that's the place I was in as I was writing this song. Not to mention when I wrote the song, I had just made the cross-country move to Los Angeles right around the holidays, and was thrown off by the amazing California weather. I loved it, but I was used to growing up in New Jersey where the wintery weather would set in along with all the holiday lights, window displays and music. This all created the spirit of the holidays for me. So, 3000 miles away, writing "I Love You. Mr. Grinch" helped me get into holiday mode without the cold weather. As soon as the sleigh bells kick in when the song starts, I could easily be in some winter-wonderland.