Vocalist/guitarist David Hidalgo and drummer Louie Pérez met at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles, and bonded over their mutual affinity for obscure musical acts such as Fairport Convention, Randy Newman and Ry Cooder. Pérez recalls, "We’re looking at each other, 'You like this stuff? I thought I was the only weird one.' So I went over to his house one day for about a year, which we spent listening to records, playing guitars, and starting to write songs." The two borrowed reel-to-reel recorders from a friend and created multi-track recordings of music spanning from parody songs to free-form jazz. They later enlisted fellow students Cesar Rosas and Conrad Lozano to complete the group's line-up in 1973.
Formed in the late 1970's, band members Dave Hidalgo, Cesar Rojas, Steve Berlin, Louie Pérez and Conrad Lozano became the bellwether for Mexican-American music in the U.S. when they recorded the music for "La Bamba" in 1987, which added popular acclaim to the critical praise they had received for their 1984 album "How Will the Wolf Survive?".
They have since become one of the mainstays of the Latin music scene as well as rock music in general, staying together through over 20 albums, and for almost three decades, through changing music climate and personal tragedies, they've continued cranking out albums and touring to dedicated fans.
Grim Grinning Ghosts
Los Lobos Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the tombstones quake
Spooks come out for a swinging wake
Happy haunts materialize
And begin to vocalize
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize
Don't close your eyes
There's a silly spook sitting by your side
Shrouded in a daft disguise
They pretend to terrorize
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize
As the moon hangs high o'er the dead oak tree
Spooks arrive for a midnight spree
Creepy creeps with eerie eyes
Start to shriek and harmonize
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize
When you hear the knell of a requiem bell
Weird glows gleam where the spirits dwell
Restless bones with eerie eyes
Rising spooks of every size
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize
The crypt goes creak
And the tombstones quake
Spooks come out for a swinging wake
Happy haunts materialize
And begin to vocalize
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize
Don't close your eyes
And don't try to hide
There's a silly spook sitting by your side
Shrouded in a daft disguise
They pretend to terrorize
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize
As the moon hangs high o'er the dead oak tree
Spooks arrive for a midnight spree
Creepy creeps with eerie eyes
Start to shriek and harmonize
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize
When you hear the knell of a requiem bell
Weird glows gleam where the spirits dwell
Restless bones with eerie eyes
Rising spooks of every size
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize
The Grim Grinning Ghosts is a song that speaks of ghosts coming out to socialize while alive people get spooked with their presence. The Crypt doors creak and Tombstones also shake with the arrival of these creepy beings. They are referred to as spooks, and they come out to have a swinging wake. As the moon hangs high o'er the dead oak tree, the eerie-eyed ghosts arrive for a midnight spree. They begin to harmonize and shout out loud, and no one can hide from their presence.
The Grim Grinning Ghosts song is a perfect representation of the mysteriousness of death. It confirms the ancient belief of the afterlife, where the dead spirits come to socialize with the living. The song is all about acceptance and celebration of the spirits even in a spooky context. You should not close your eyes or try to hide from these silly spooks as they are glued to your side and pretend to terrorize. The song highlights that death is a part of life, and even after the physical body dies, the spirit continues to live.
Line by Line Meaning
The crypt doors creak
The doors of the crypt make a squeaking noise
And the tombstones quake
The tombstones are trembling
Spooks come out for a swinging wake
Ghosts are coming out to have a fun time
Happy haunts materialize
Friendly ghosts appear
And begin to vocalize
They start to sing
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize
Scary, grinning ghosts come out to have a gathering
Don't close your eyes
Don't shut your eyes
And don't try to hide
Don't try to conceal yourself
There's a silly spook sitting by your side
There's a playful ghost next to you
Shrouded in a daft disguise
They are masked in a foolish-looking costume
They pretend to terrorize
They act like they want to scare you
As the moon hangs high o'er the dead oak tree
The moon is shining over the lifeless oak tree
Spooks arrive for a midnight spree
Ghosts come for a nighttime celebration
Creepy creeps with eerie eyes
Unpleasant beings with disturbing gaze
Start to shriek and harmonize
They begin to scream together
When you hear the knell of a requiem bell
When you listen to the sound of a funeral bell
Weird glows gleam where the spirits dwell
Strange lights shine where the ghosts live
Restless bones with eerie eyes
The bones are restless, and their eyes are spooky
Rising spooks of every size
Ghosts of all shapes and sizes are emerging
The crypt goes creak
The crypt makes another creaking sound
And the tombstones quake
The tombstones continue to tremble
Spooks come out for a swinging wake
More ghosts come out to party
Happy haunts materialize
Friendly ghosts appear again
And begin to vocalize
They start singing again
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize
Scary, grinning ghosts are once again coming out to mingle
Contributed by Mateo P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jim Wood
on Me Estas Matando
I would like to learn this song. My Spanish is sufficient, but I require the lyrics. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Jim Wood
on Me Estas Matando
I can't seem to find lyrics for this song. Can anyone help me out?