Gray, Gray, Gray

Album: The House Is Burning: The Best Of Vivabeat (1980)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is from the Los Angeles-based New Wave group Vivabeat, who were led by Mick Muhlfriedel and Marina Del Rey. Mick told Songfacts the story behind it:

    "Gray, Gray, Gray" was inspired by Marina's Aunt Anne, who, over a Passover dinner, casually mentioned that she had just seen a play where the main characters were mostly walking around the stage repeating the words "Gray, gray, gray," while staring up at the sky. I had been working on a song about an abusive relationship between two dear friends. And, for some reason or other, the line just seemed to fit perfectly into the mood of the song I was trying to create, so it became the title and the chorus.

    We actually recorded two versions of the song. One featured lead singer Terrance Robay and Marina on vocals. The other was under a girl-fronted short-term spinoff of Vivabeat called Neko Meka and was spelled the British way, "Grey, Grey, Grey." It was recorded while Terrance was in Germany acting in a film with Dennis Hopper.
  • A version by the Vivabeat side project See Jane Run plays in the 1986 horror movie Trick or Treat, featuring both Ozzy Osbourne and Gene Simmons.
  • The song was hard to find until 2001, when it appeared on Vivabeat's compilation The Good Life: 1979 - 1986. In 2025 it was issued on the collection The House Is Burning: The Best Of Vivabeat.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Trans Soul Rebels: Songs About Transgenderism

Trans Soul Rebels: Songs About TransgenderismSong Writing

A history of songs dealing with transgender issues, featuring Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Morrissey and Green Day.

Chris Frantz of Talking Heads

Chris Frantz of Talking HeadsSongwriter Interviews

Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz on where the term "new wave" originated, the story of "Naive Melody," and why they never recorded another cover song after "Take Me To The River."

Booker T. Jones

Booker T. JonesSongwriter Interviews

The Stax legend on how he cooked up "Green Onions," the first time he and Otis Redding saw hippies, and if he'll ever play a digital organ.

Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root

Michael Glabicki of Rusted RootSongwriter Interviews

Michael tells the story of "Send Me On My Way," and explains why some of the words in the song don't have a literal meaning.

Loudon Wainwright III

Loudon Wainwright IIISongwriter Interviews

"Dead Skunk" became a stinker for Loudon when he felt pressure to make another hit - his latest songs deal with mortality, his son Rufus, and picking up poop.

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie Combination

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie CombinationSong Writing

In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.