By Fred E. Ahlert and Roy Turk1929
From the tail end of the Roaring '20s comes this sad, plaintive ballad with a clever lyric by Roy Turk which plays on the double meaning of the word "mean". It was introduced by Annette Hanshaw (pictured), considered in the early '30s to be the female equivalent of Bing Crosby. Ruth Etting also scored a major hit with it later that year. The melody would also be featured that year in the Krazy Kat cartoon "Ratskin", the first animated short produced by Columbia Pictures.
Lyrics:
You're mean to me
Why must you be mean to me?
Gee, honey, it seems to me
You love to see me cryin'
I don't know why
I stay home each night
When you say you phone
You don't and I'm left alone.
Why must you be mean to me?
Gee, honey, it seems to me
You love to see me cryin'
I don't know why
I stay home each night
When you say you phone
You don't and I'm left alone.
Sing the blues and sighin'
You treat me coldly each day in the year
You always scold me
Whenever somebody is near, dear
I must be great fun to be mean to me
You shouldn't, for can't you see
What you mean to me
You treat me coldly each day in the year
You always scold me
Whenever somebody is near, dear
I must be great fun to be mean to me
You shouldn't, for can't you see
What you mean to me
Recorded By:
Robert Goulet
Ella Fitzgerald
Billie Holiday
Anita O'Day
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