Born in Los Angeles, he entered the film industry in 1976, initially as an actor. He made his film scoring debut in 1980 for the film Forbidden Zone directed by his older brother Richard Elfman. He has since been nominated for four Academy Awards and won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for Tim Burton's Batman and an Emmy Award for his Desperate Housewives theme. Elfman was honored with the prestigious Richard Kirk award at the 2002 BMI Film and TV Awards. The award is given annually to a composer who has made significant contributions to film and television music.
He is the son of novelist Blossom Elfman and the brother of director Richard Elfman.
Elfman was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Blossom Elfman (née Bernstein), a writer and teacher, and Milton Elfman, a community in the Baldwin Hills area of Los Angeles. He spent much of his time in the local movie theatre, adoring the music of such film composers as Bernard Herrmann and Franz Waxman.
Stating that he hung out with the "band nerds" in high school, he started a ska band. After dropping out of high school, he followed his brother Richard to France, where he performed with Le Grand Magic Circus, an avant-garde musical theater group. Violin in tow, Elfman next journeyed to Africa where he traveled through Ghana, Mali, and Upper Volta, absorbing new musical styles, including the Ghanaian highlife genre which would eventually influence his own music. Elfman contracted malaria during his one-year stay and was often sick. Eventually he returned home to the United States, where he began to take Balinese music lessons at the CalArts. He was never officially a student at the institute, nonetheless, the instructor encouraged him to continue learning. Elfman stated, "He just laughed, and said, 'Sit. Play.' I continued to sit and play for a couple years." At this time, his brother was forming a new musical theater group, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. The group performed the music for Richard's debut feature film, Forbidden Zone. Danny Elfman composed his first score for the film and played the role of Satan. By the time the movie was completed, they had taken the name Oingo Boingo and begun recording and touring as a rock group.
In 1985, Tim Burton and Paul Reubens invited Elfman to write the score for their first feature film, Pee-wee's Big Adventure. Elfman was apprehensive at first because of his lack of formal training, but with orchestration assistance from Oingo Boingo guitarist and arranger Steve Bartek, he achieved his goal of emulating the mood of such composers as Nino Rota and Bernard Herrmann. In the booklet for the first volume of Music for a Darkened Theatre, Elfman described the first time he heard his music played by a full orchestra as one of the most thrilling experiences of his life.[citation needed] Elfman immediately developed a rapport with Burton and has gone on to score all but two of Burton's major studio releases: Ed Wood, scored by Howard Shore, which was under production while Elfman and Burton were having a fight, and Sweeney Todd, an adaptation of the 1979 Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical. He also, more recently, accompanied Tim Burton in the composition of music for "Almost Alice", the soundtrack for Alice in Wonderland.
Burton has said of his relationship with Elfman: "We don't even have to talk about the music. We don't even have to intellectualize – which is good for both of us, we're both similar that way. We're very lucky to connect" (Breskin, 1997).
In 2021 he released "Big Mess", his first non-soundtrack album since 1984's "So-Lo", which is often considered to rather be an Oingo Boingo album due to the presence of many other band members.
Elfman has three children: Lola, born in 1979; Mali, born in 1984; and Oliver, born in 2005. On November 29, 2003, Elfman married film actress Bridget Fonda. In 1997 he scored A Simple Plan – his only score for one of her films to date (although he did compose a cue for the film Army of Darkness, in which Fonda has a cameo). He is the uncle of actor Bodhi Elfman who is married to actress Jenna Elfman, known most notably in her role as Dharma in the TV series Dharma and Greg.
Assemblea cittadina
Danny Elfman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
non saprei, ma spiegarvele vorrei!
E' un mondo che, non somiglia a questo qui.
E vorrei, io vorrei,
descriverlo anche a voi
come un sogno magico, sì!
Ma credete a me,
se vi dico che
Ma vi giuro che c'è!
Ecco, ora ve lo spiego!
Questo si chiama regalo
e tutto inizia da ciò!
Da ciò?
Fa pipì?
Fa popò?
Ha per caso un oblò?
In ciò! Che bellissimo ciò!
se permettete...
Spiegherò perché è colorato
e perché c'è un fiocco bordeaux!
Bordeaux?
Perché?
Che brutto!
E dentro?
E DENTRO?
Non si sa cosa c'è!
Non si sa!
E cioè?
Che cos'è?
Scimpanzé?
La tsè tsè?
Magari quel mostro che fa trentatré!
ZITTI UN PO'!
Ascoltate me!
Ora vi narro che cos'è!
Ma state attenti...
Si prende una calza grandina
e appenderla al muro si può!
Oh cielo, c'è un piede laggiù!
Cosa c'è, guarda tu!
E' verdastro e macchiato di blu!
Eh, lasciate che vi spieghi.
Non c'è un piede là, ma dolcetti!
Giochini, trenini, rondò!
Rondò?
Come mai?
Che cos'è?
Non esplode e fa PUM!
Terrorizza i bambini
e si mangia anche noi!
Ma che splendida idea, natale sarà!
Lo voglio provare
portiamolo qua!
FERMI COSI'!
Che fretta c'è?!
Qualcosa vi sfugge, ma cos'è?
Beh, tanto vale che gli dia quello che vogliono...
E ce n'è dell'altro che
vi dirò fra un po'
sulla fama del loro re!
Grida tanto che
tremerete anche voi, sì,
quindi buon Natale, amici miei!
Se qualcosa non gli va
quel monarca a volte fa
l'aragosta invece che il re!
Quando vola lassù
sul trabiccolo,
coi suoi sacchi va! Cosa porterà?
Questo è quello che si sa!
E nella notte, lui,
con la luna va
e cala su di noi
COME FANNO GLI AVVOLTOI!!!
Buon Natale a tutti voi
Eheheheheh!
The lyrics to Danny Elfman's song "Assemblea cittadina" are a quirky and surreal description of a strange world that the singer has encountered. The lyrics are full of nonsensical questions and bizarre scenarios, such as a mysterious package that may or may not contain a monster, a colorful stocking filled with treats, and a monarch who sometimes pretends to be a lobster. Despite the bizarre nature of these images, the singer insists that they are real and wishes to share them with the listener.
Throughout the song, the singer's descriptions become increasingly frenzied, and the lines become shorter and more fragmented, as if the singer is struggling to describe something that is beyond normal human understanding. The song culminates in a joyful exclamation of "Buon Natale" ("Merry Christmas"), as if the singer is sharing the wonders of this strange world with the listener as a holiday gift.
The humor and playful spirit of these lyrics are typical of Danny Elfman's oeuvre, which often draws on the aesthetics of surrealism and fantasy to create dazzling and memorable musical worlds. The song's fast-paced rhythm and almost manic energy are also characteristic of Elfman's work, as he has long been known for his frenetic scores for films such as "The Nightmare Before Christmas," "Batman," and "Edward Scissorhands."
Line by Line Meaning
Delle cose così strane, come non ho visto mai
I want to describe to you strange things that I’ve never seen before
non saprei, ma spiegarvele vorrei!
I don't know how to describe them, but I’ll still try to explain
E' un mondo che, non somiglia a questo qui.
It’s a world that’s completely different from ours
E vorrei, io vorrei,
And I would like,
descriverlo anche a voi
to describe it to you as well
come un sogno magico, sì!
like a magical dream!
Ma credete a me,
Believe me,
se vi dico che
if I say that
sembra finto, lo so!
it seems fake, I know!
Ma vi giuro che c'è!
But I swear that it’s real!
Ecco, ora ve lo spiego!
Now I’ll explain it to you!
Questo si chiama regalo
It’s called a present
e tutto inizia da ciò!
And everything starts with that!
Da ciò?
With that?
Fa pipì?
Does it pee?
Fa popò?
Does it poo?
Ha per caso un oblò?
Does it have a porthole?
In ciò! Che bellissimo ciò!
With that! How beautiful it is!
se permettete...
if you don't mind...
Spiegherò perché è colorato
I'll explain why it's colorful
e perché c'è un fiocco bordeaux!
and why there's a burgundy bow!
Bordeaux?
Burgundy?
Perché?
Why?
Che brutto!
How ugly!
E dentro?
And inside?
E DENTRO?
AND INSIDE?
Non si sa cosa c'è!
We don't know what's inside!
Non si sa!
We don't know!
E cioè?
And that means?
Che cos'è?
What is it?
Scimpanzé?
A chimpanzee?
La tsè tsè?
The tsetse fly?
Magari quel mostro che fa trentatré!
Maybe that monster that goes thirty-three!
ZITTI UN PO'!
Quiet for a moment!
Ascoltate me!
Listen to me!
Ora vi narro che cos'è!
Now I'll tell you what it is!
Ma state attenti...
But be careful...
Si prende una calza grandina
You take a big sock
e appenderla al muro si può!
and you can hang it on the wall!
Oh cielo, c'è un piede laggiù!
Oh my god, there's a foot down there!
Cosa c'è, guarda tu!
What's there, you look!
E' verdastro e macchiato di blu!
It's greenish and stained with blue!
Eh, lasciate che vi spieghi.
Well, let me explain to you.
Non c'è un piede là, ma dolcetti!
There's no foot there, but sweets!
Giochini, trenini, rondò!
Toys, trains, merry-go-rounds!
Rondò?
Merry-go-rounds?
Come mai?
Why?
Che cos'è?
What is it?
Non esplode e fa PUM!
It doesn't explode and go BOOM!
Terrorizza i bambini
It terrifies children
e si mangia anche noi!
and it even eats us!
Ma che splendida idea, natale sarà!
What a wonderful idea, it will be Christmas!
Lo voglio provare
I want to try it
portiamolo qua!
bring it here!
FERMI COSI'!
STOP RIGHT THERE!
Che fretta c'è?!
What's the rush?!
Qualcosa vi sfugge, ma cos'è?
Something is slipping away from you, but what is it?
Beh, tanto vale che gli dia quello che vogliono...
Well, it's better to give them what they want...
E ce n'è dell'altro che
And there's more that
vi dirò fra un po'
I'll tell you about in a bit
sulla fama del loro re!
about the fame of their king!
Grida tanto che
It screams so much that
tremerete anche voi, sì,
you’ll be trembling too,
quindi buon Natale, amici miei!
So, Merry Christmas, my friends!
Se qualcosa non gli va
If something doesn't please them
quel monarca a volte fa
that monarch sometimes does
l'aragosta invece che il re!
a lobster instead of a king!
Quando vola lassù
When it flies up there
sul trabiccolo,
on the wagon
coi suoi sacchi va!
it goes with its bags!
Cosa porterà?
What will it bring?
Questo è quello che si sa!
That's what we know!
E nella notte, lui,
And in the night, it
con la luna va
goes with the moon
e cala su di noi
and descends upon us
COME FANNO GLI AVVOLTOI!!!
LIKE VULTURES DO!!!
Buon Natale a tutti voi
Merry Christmas to all of you
Eheheheheh!
Hehehehehe!
Contributed by Austin O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@webzter2661
The Nightmare Before Christmas is definitely one of those films where the music defines the movie. The soundtrack is a masterpiece and without it, I can't imagine that the story would have the same charm.
@_what._.
100% true.
@donovan6152
Qqq
@ritawing1064
Mars Attack, too.
@KermitDFrog-ib4wj
I’m a nightmare fan if I saw this live I would die in my seat
@SkittyDangerzne
Same!!
@krissmith8851
Don't sit next to me when we watch this.
@alicethedestroyer1287
You should have watched the Elfman/Burton show. One of the greatest concerts I’ve ever been to. Betting they’ll do it again after COVID.
@_what._.
Same !! 😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
@garu922
I would be str8 up sobbing