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.
Get Over It
Danny Elfman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What′s wrong, or right
Get over it, get over it baby
Quit your shoutin', too much sound
Quit your gripin', just look around
Get over it ladies, get over it gents
The jury′s out, hung it up, couldn′t decide
What's right, or wrong
And do you, know better?
Do you know what′s inside?
Do you know what makes the clock tick backwards?
Through time
When things, were different
Calmer minds, prevailed
But that ship has sailed
Get over it ladies, get over it gents
Get over it babies, get over it
Do you know the story about the man
Who gave his life to sorrow?
He gave it up, like an old cigarette
To find a better tomorrow
Lightning, strikes three times, bad luck comes in threes, that's right
Get over it ladies, get over it gents
Get over it babies, get over it
The jury′s out, and another one's down
And out like an animal banished
From Eden, but I never liked apples
And God, would no doubt, be angry
If he ever found out, what you and me
Were up to, last night, behind the gym
I couldn′t help but notice, your skin
Was soft to the touch, and just like that
It's over
Lightning, strikes three times, bad luck comes in threes
The devil lives, in a big white house
There's no mercy, there′s no mercy
Get over it ladies, get over it gents
Get over it babies, get over it
To the right, there′s a mountain, to the left there's the sea
And above a flock of sparrows
And they fly, with the wind, to steal your soul
For a price, they move incognito
And they find a way, and know what they do
To your heart, and then they burrow
Your friends and neighbors, they won′t have a clue
They will come, and they will, find you
You will ask forgiveness, but there's none to find
It′s the price, you pay, for greatness
Lightning, strikes three times, bad luck comes in threes
The devil lives in a big white house
There's no mercy, there′s no mercy, there's no mercy
For me
The lyrics of Danny Elfman's song "Get Over It" seem to be a commentary on the state of society and the need to move on from divisive or indecisive situations. The opening lines refer to a hung jury unable to come to a decision on what is right or wrong. The repeated refrain "get over it" suggests that it's time to stop dwelling on divisive issues and move forward. The lyrics also caution against excessive complaining and suggest taking a look at what's going on in the world.
The second verse takes on a more introspective tone. The lines "Do you know what makes the clock tick backwards?/Through time" suggest an existential questioning of the nature of time and the past. The lines "When things were different/Calmer minds prevailed/But that ship has sailed" seem to suggest that the world has become too chaotic and that it's too late to go back to a more peaceful time. The following lines are a warning against allowing oneself to become consumed by despair and the need to stay optimistic even in the face of adversity.
The final verses introduce some darker themes. The lines "When things were different/Calmer minds prevailed/But that ship has sailed" suggest that the world has become too chaotic and that it's too late to go back to a more peaceful time. The lines "The devil lives in a big white house/There's no mercy, there's no mercy" seem to refer to political corruption or a general atmosphere of cruelty and indifference in society.
Line by Line Meaning
The jury's out, hung it up, couldn't decide
The decision has been made, and it's final
What's wrong, or right
It doesn't matter what's right or wrong
Get over it, get over it baby
It's time to move on
Quit your shoutin', too much sound
Stop making noise
Quit your gripin', just look around
Stop complaining and see what's happening
Get over it ladies, get over it gents
Everyone needs to move on
Get over it babies, get over it
Even the youngest need to deal with it
Do you know what's inside?
Do you really know yourself?
Do you know what makes the clock tick backwards? Through time
Do you know what causes things to go wrong?
When things were different, calmer minds prevailed
Things were better before
But that ship has sailed
It's too late to change things now
Do you know the story about the man who gave his life to sorrow?
Do you know someone who gave up on life?
He gave it up, like an old cigarette to find a better tomorrow
He quit his old ways to start something new
Lightning, strikes three times, bad luck comes in threes, that's right
Bad things happen in threes
The jury's out, and another one's down
Another decision has been made
And out like an animal banished from Eden, but I never liked apples and God would no doubt be angry
Banished like Adam and Eve, but I don't care
If he ever found out, what you and me were up to, last night, behind the gym
If God knew what we did last night
I couldn't help but notice, your skin was soft to the touch, and just like that it's over
I enjoyed it, but it's done now
The devil lives in a big white house, there's no mercy, there's no mercy
Bad things happen, and there's no one to help
To the right, there's a mountain, to the left there's the sea and above a flock of sparrows
We're surrounded
And they fly, with the wind, to steal your soul
Evil is waiting
For a price, they move incognito
They'll do whatever it takes
And they find a way, and know what they do, to your heart, and then they burrow
They'll get to you and take what they want
Your friends and neighbors, they won't have a clue
No one can help you
They will come, and they will, find you
They will get to you eventually
You will ask forgiveness, but there's none to find, it's the price you pay for greatness
You'll pay for your mistakes
There's no mercy, there's no mercy, there's no mercy for me
I'm on my own
Writer(s): Danny Elfman
Contributed by Lila H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
SyrupyScribbles
Oh man, the strings in this one are ominous and wonderful! Those vocals are smooth and rich as always. Great job, Danny!
Miguel
I can't get over the beat and rhythm! I envision myself on a locomotive with Danny Elfman being the conductor! His voice sounds like it is coming out of a PA system on a moving train.
Nuclear Cat Baby
Or a steamboat. You hear that sound when he said "that ship has sailed"
Alien Zombie
i love all the different sounds that are in this song
Mädness
I can't get over this song.
Or: I can't get enough of this song. It's playing in my head nonstop, and I think it's also my favorite song from the album! Love the Men in Black theme song vibes with the rhythm and drums! And the ska rhythm towards the end of the song. Gosh, I just love everything about this track!
Phil Machi
It’s a good contender for favorite track for me too! There is something so catchy about it and I love how you can really get a sense of his film score work AND Boingo converging here.
Nuclear Cat Baby
Definitely underrated, wish he would have played it at his recent shows, maybe he’ll play it at Sick New World. Definitely relevant to his life right now - I fucking knew it was about MeToo/cancel culture.
Crimson Coco
This is probably my favorite off this album. It just scratches my brain in all the right ways!
Frank Reynolds
Danny Elfman is so amazing. He has inspired me since I was a kid
David Ferreira
This song is amazing!