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.
Face To Face
Danny Elfman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My lovely foe
Mouth to mouth
Raining heaven's blows
Hand on heart
Tic tac toe
Under the stars
Naked as we flow
The bitter sweet
Commit your crime in your deadly time
Commit your crime in your deadly time
It's too divine
I want to bend
I want this bliss but something says I must resist
Another life
Another time
We're Siamese twins writhing intertwined
Face to face
No telling lies
The masks they slide to reveal a new disguise
You never can win
It's the state I'm in
This danger thrills and my conflict kills
They say follow your heart
Follow it through
But how can you
When you're split in two?
And you'll never know
You'll never know
One more kiss
Before we die
Face to face
And dream of flying
Who are you?
Who am I?
Wind in wings
Two angels falling
To die like this
With a last kiss
It's falsehood's flame
It's a crying shame
Face to face
The passions breathe
I hate to stay but then I hate to leave
And you'll never know
You'll never know
The lyrics to Danny Elfman & Siouxsie and The Banshees's song Face to Face are about two people who are opposite to each other but are attracted to each other's personalities in a bittersweet way. They connect with each other intimately, both emotionally and physically, but also engage in criminal activities in their own deadly time. The line "Commit your crime in your deadly time, it's too divine" refers to their enjoyment of the risk and danger that comes with their crimes. Despite their strong emotions for each other, something inside them tells them to resist their attraction.
The next part of the song describes a different time and place where the two people are like Siamese twins, intertwined with each other. They are face-to-face with no lies, but their masks slide to reveal a new disguise, suggesting they hide their true selves from each other. The person singing the song is conflicted between following their heart, which leads them to the other person, and following their head, which tells them to resist the attraction.
The song ends with a dream of flying before they die, with the metaphorical wind in their wings like two angels falling from grace. They hate to stay but also hate to leave. The final repeated line, "And you'll never know, you'll never know," suggests that the two people will never truly understand each other or come to a resolution about their situation.
Line by Line Meaning
Face to face
The two individuals are in direct confrontation with each other.
My lovely foe
The person being confronted is attractive despite being an enemy.
Mouth to mouth
The two individuals are extremely close to each other.
Raining heaven's blows
The physical contact is intense and varied like a storm from above.
Hand on heart
One person is confirming their sincerity with a gesture towards their chest.
Tic tac toe
The hand gesture made suggests a game of tic tac toe or the feeling of anticipation.
Under the stars
They are outside and under the night sky.
Naked as we flow
They are both stripped of their defenses and moving together like water.
Cheek to cheek
Their faces are pressed together like a romantic dance.
The bitter sweet
The situation is both sweet and sour at the same time.
Commit your crime in your deadly time
Do what you must, but be aware of the consequences.
It's too divine
The temptation is too overwhelming.
I want to bend
The person desires to succumb to the temptation.
I want this bliss but something says I must resist
Despite the strong desire, there is a voice of caution telling the person to hold back.
Another life
A past where things are different.
Another time
A past where things are different.
We're Siamese twins writhing intertwined
The two individuals are highly dependent on each other and cannot be separated.
No telling lies
They cannot hide their true feelings or intentions.
The masks they slide to reveal a new disguise
The facade is dropped to reveal a new deception.
You never can win
There is no victory in this situation.
It's the state I'm in
The situation is overwhelming and inescapable.
This danger thrills and my conflict kills
The danger is scary but also thrilling, and the inner turmoil is tearing the person apart.
They say follow your heart
People encourage following one's emotions rather than logic or caution.
Follow it through
Act on those emotions and see it to the end.
But how can you
The inner conflict makes it impossible to purely follow one's heart.
When you're split in two?
The person is conflicted between two opposing desires.
And you'll never know
The outcome of the situation is uncertain.
One more kiss
A final, bittersweet moment shared between the two individuals.
Before we die
The situation is dire and may lead to unpleasant consequences.
And dream of flying
The two individuals share a fleeting desire for escape or freedom.
Who are you?
Questioning the true identity of the other person.
Who am I?
Questioning one's own identity or actions in this situation.
Wind in wings
A sense of hope or possibility is felt.
Two angels falling
A sense of tragedy or loss is imminent.
To die like this
The situation is leading to a potentially fatal outcome.
With a last kiss
A final, emotional moment shared between the two individuals.
It's falsehood's flame
The situation is full of deception and illusion.
It's a crying shame
The situation is unfortunate and sad.
The passions breathe
The intensity of the situation is felt in the air.
I hate to stay but then I hate to leave
The person is torn and conflicted about staying or going.
And you'll never know
The outcome of the situation is uncertain.
You'll never know
The outcome of the situation is uncertain.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SUSAN BALLION, STEVEN SEVERIN, PETER EDWARD CLARKE, DANIEL ELFMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@charlessmith263
I love this "chillout" EDM song from the "Batman" movie saga.
Here are the lyrics for those who need to know the words......
NOTE: Danny Elfman actually did the “Penguin Motive” – the iconic 4-note passage of stepwise motion (notes D-Eb-D-C), and also the “Catwoman Motive” (notes Eb-D-Eb-D), in this song.
VERSE 1
Face to face – my lovely foe.
Mouth to mouth – raining heaven’s blows…
Hand on heart – tic-tac-toe;
Under the stars, naked as we flow –
Cheek to cheek – the bitter sweet (also known as “the pitch is swayed”)
Commit your crime…in your deadly time!
It’s too divine…I want to bend! (also known as “I want your bait!)
I want this bliss, but something says I must resist…..
VERSE 2
Another life, another time….
We’re siamese twins, writhing intertwined;
Face to face---no telling lies,
The masks they slide to reveal a new disguise!
You never can win (also known as “You’ll never get away”) – It’s the state I’m in.
This danger thrills, and my conflict kills (also known as “and my cold lip kills!”)
They say follow my heart….Follow it through….
But how can you…when you’re split in two…..
And you’ll never know…….And you’ll never know, and you’ll never know!!!....
(Rrrrrrrrugh……ahhhhhhhhhhh……Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrruuuuuuuuuuugggggggggggh!)
VERSE 3
One more kiss…before we die…..
Face to face…and dream of flying…
Who are you? Who am I?
Wind in wings (also known as “spread your wings”), two angels falling…….
To die like this…with one last kiss…
It’s falsehood’s flame (also known as “It lost its flame”) – it’s a cryin’ shame—
Face to face…the passions breathe (also known as “the passions breed”)
I hate to stay….But then I hate to leave…..
(And you’ll never know, And you’ll never know….you’ll never know….you’ll never know….you’ll never know, you’ll never know………..you’ll never know…..)
@sskoog
This public dance at the ball scene was amazing -- Pfeiffer's eyes fluttering toward the ceiling, glittering with madness, with Siouxsie's darkly Pharaonic music playing in background -- ranks up there alongside the Ra's al Ghul training sequence as the best scenes in Batman cinematic history. Batman Returns is an underrated masterpiece.
@arthurchallat8530
I was so happy to know that Burton asked Siouxsie And The Banshees to perform a song for this movie. One of my favorite film-maker likes such an amazing band 😍😍
@joshuwajimer
Mistletoe can be deadly of you eat it, but a kiss can be even deadlier...if you mean it
@CountTentacula
Does this mean we have to start fighting?
@THERobertL2000
@CountTentacula Let's go outside
@PowerHouser
BOOM
@Emily00Strange
It's 2022 and Batman Returns is still my favorite Batman movie. I love this version of Catwoman & The Peguin.
@DarthCipient
Best ever Batman movie.
@darkclaw3296
DarthCipient I was literally just about to post that. I f'n LOVE this one. It also doubles as my favorite XMas movie as well, hehe.
@marshanahrai97
+DarthCipient So true.