How Lucky You Are Lyrics
How Lucky You Are
CATWhen the news is all bad,
When you're sour and blue,
When you start to get mad
You should do what I do-
(The CAT mischievously lets the WHOS fall a few more feet)
WHOS
Aaah!
CAT IN THE HAT
Tell yourself
How lucky you are...
When your life's going wrong
When the fates are unkind
When you're limping along
And get kicked from behind
Tell yourself how lucky you are...
(THE CAT lets the WHOS fall a little more)
WHOS
Aaah!
CAT
Why decry a cloudy sky
An empty purse
A crazy universe?
My philosophy is simply
Things could be worse!
(The CAT sniffs the clover sneezes allergically - all over THE WHOS)
AH ... AH.. AH-CHOO!
(The WHOS react in disgust at being sneezed on)
WHOS
EWWW!
CAT
So be happy you're here.
Think of life as a thrill
CAT
And if worse comes to worse
(As we all know it will)
Thank your lucky star
You've gotten this far...
We're here in this beautiful theatre -
(To a child in the audience - obviously a rich kid!)
CAT
And you're in the first row!
(To audience)
How lucky to be in the theatre!
More lucky than you know!
You could have the luck of our hero
Whose luck has been running low
FOR CERTAIN!
Curtain!
(We see the huge pink clover field into which the WHOS have dropped)
HORTON
Oh, no!
CAT
How lucky you are!
How lucky, how lucky you are!
(THE CAT, WHOS and JOJO are gone, and HORTON stands alone)
HORTON
That bird let that clover drop somewhere inside
Of a great patch of clovers, one hundred miles wide!
I'll find it, I'll find it! I'll find it or bust!
I shall find my friends on their small speck of dust.
Yes, clover by clover by clover with care
I'll listen and I'll call, are you there?
Are you there? Are you there? Are you there?
(HORTON begins his search for the WHOS clover by clover .
He picks one up, carefully puts it to his ear, listens for a beat, then tosses it over his shoulder.
He repeats this, carefully listening and then tossing.
GERTRUDE MCFUZZ enters. Her tail is now magnificent!
She sings to HORTON, but he takes no notice because he is searching for the speck of dust)
Song Overview
Review and Highlights
I’ve always heard this as the show’s sly reset button. The Cat kills the momentum mid-crisis, turns to us, and sells gratitude like a sideshow barker. The groove is light - show-shuffle with patter snap - but the ethics are jagged. Smile, he says, while he lets the Whos drop another few feet. The joke lands because the band grins with him and we get complicit.
Highlights
- Meta-comedy with consequences: the Cat plays emcee, narrator, and chaos agent at once; the arrangement plays along with a brisk, brassy wink.
- Book-to-stage collage: Ahrens & Flaherty fold Seuss’s gratitude riff into the Horton storyline without slowing the chase. It’s connective tissue that sings.
- Cast-album polish: Decca Broadway’s production gives the patter air to pop; you hear the smile in David Shiner’s voice and the pit’s clean punctuation.
Creation History
Music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, orchestrations by Doug Besterman, produced on the cast album by Phil Ramone with mixing by Elliot Scheiner. The Original Broadway Cast album hit stores on February 6, 2001 via Decca Broadway, an imprint of UMG.
Song Meaning and Annotations
Plot
The Cat hits pause as the Whos tumble through space. He sells perspective - you’re lucky, things could be worse - while actively making them worse. A sneeze, a pratfall, a flourish, and he’s gone. Horton is left alone to sift a field of identical clovers, and the story snaps back into peril.
Song Meaning
On paper, it’s a gratitude anthem. In practice, it’s satire. The Cat’s mantra doubles as showbiz patter and distraction technique - a musical handwave that reframes genuine fear as a mindset problem. That edge matters later when Mayzie reprises the tune to justify ditching her egg. The shared melody exposes the sales pitch.
Annotations
“This is a direct quote from the Dr. Seuss book, Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? Many other lines in the song sample this book into a musical song.”
“THAT’S A REACTION! Run, everyone! The sneeze is gonna cover you!”
Style and rhythm
Uptempo, comedic shuffle with patter-song DNA. You hear reeds flick, brass jab, and a rhythm section that keeps the bounce uncluttered. The lyric leans on Seuss’s anapestic swing - short-short-long - so the Cat can half-speak, half-sing without losing lift.
Emotional arc
Starts chipper and knowing, then weaponizes cheerfulness. By the final tag, the smile has done its job: the plot’s in worse shape, and we clapped along.
Touchpoints
The source book preaches perspective through a parade of absurd misfortunes - the musical quotes that tone while making the Cat the messenger and mischief-maker.
Key Facts
- Artist: Stephen Flaherty, David Shiner
- Composer: Stephen Flaherty
- Lyricist: Lynn Ahrens
- Orchestrations: Doug Besterman
- Producer (album): Phil Ramone; mix Elliot Scheiner
- Release Date: February 6, 2001 (cast album, Decca Broadway)
- Label: Decca Broadway / Universal Music Group
- Album: Seussical (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
- Track #: 16 on OBC
- Length: ~1:40
- Language: English
- Genre: Musical theatre, patter-style uptempo
- Poetic meter: anapestic-leaning lyric flow
- © Copyrights: © 2000–2001 UMG Recordings, Inc.; underlying Seuss text © respective rights holders
Questions and Answers
- When did Stephen Flaherty release “How Lucky You Are”?
- The song appears on the Original Broadway Cast album released February 6, 2001 by Decca Broadway.
- Who wrote “How Lucky You Are” by Stephen Flaherty?
- Music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens.
- Who sings it on the cast album?
- David Shiner as the Cat in the Hat.
- Is it tied to a specific Dr. Seuss book?
- Yes - it riffs on Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? and folds that voice into Horton’s storyline.
- Is there a reprise?
- Yes - “How Lucky You Are (Mayzie’s Reprise),” which reframes the tune for Mayzie’s self-justification.
Awards and Chart Positions
No standalone single release or chart action is associated with this track. The parent production’s album earned a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Show Album, while the show itself received a Tony nomination (Kevin Chamberlin) and Drama Desk nods for Actor, Featured Actress (Janine LaManna), and Music.
How to Sing “How Lucky You Are”
Range & tessitura: commonly sits in a light baritone/tenor pocket for the Cat, roughly F2 to F4. It’s written to speak-sing cleanly without strain.