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.
Serious Ground
Danny Elfman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you're everyone′s daddy, and you're a media star
And the grand old gentry, you know they're so composed
While they take the power, from right under your nose
And you thought that you′d never see the day
When the whole damn thing could be taken away
When the crowd starts waving that serious flag
Turning back
And when the whole thing started
You thought it's only a joke
You had a couple of laughs, everytime he spoke
′Cause there's no reason to worry, no it can′t happen here
'Cause it′s a third world story, and we got nothing to fear
And the crowd cries out with a glorious sound
And the bonfire burns on the fertile ground
And the fireworks light up in the moonbeam sky
And the children watching with their labrador big eyes
You were right about the things you saw
Reflected in the faces of those wild-eyed kids
The crowd surged like a dead thing waking
Crawling from the sludge of a cold black lake
Rising with their clenched teeth, jaws vibrating
And the teeth clack-clack's such a curious sound
And the teeth clack-clack's such a curious sound
And the teeth clack-clack′s such a curious sound
And the teeth clack-clack′s such a curious sound
You can hear the voices, you can hear the sound
When they start marching on the serious ground
You can hear the voices, you can hear the sound
When they start marching on the serious ground
Boots start marching on the serious ground
Boots start marching on the serious ground
Boots start marching on the serious ground
Boots start marching on the serious ground
Start marching on the serious ground
Start marching on the serious ground
Start marching on the serious ground
Start marching on the serious ground
It's just a magic trick, on a two-dollar stage
And when you blink your eyes
You find the world has changed
And the crazy old fuck, that was waving his arms
Is now running the circus, with an army of clowns
Well you know when the boots start hitting the ground
And the crowd starts making that terrible sound
The flag starts waving with the fists in the air
And civilization dies, right there
Dies right there
The crowd cries out, the leader waves his hand
Some tears are shed, but he seems to understand
That in order to, set his people free
Must erase the past, because nothing lasts
The song "Serious Ground" by Danny Elfman is a political commentary that reflects the idea of how the general public falls for flashy politicians who ultimately do nothing for their benefit. Throughout the song, Danny describes how people are fooled by the political games of some particular leaders. The first verse emphasizes the tricks and illusions played by such leaders who suddenly rise to fame and authority while the rest obeys them. The lyrics use metaphors like "flick of a card" to describe the sudden rise to popularity and the "media star" image of the leader. The next verses talk about how people underestimate the potential dangerous outcomes of such a leadership. The chorus talks about how these leaders are eventually exposed for their falsity, and the damage that they end up causing to society is irreversible.
While the song is quite poetic, Elfman's criticism of political leadership and propaganda techniques is clear. The song's lyrics use powerful imagery to describe moments when the people realize that they have been led astray. The song is a cautionary tale, warning of the dangers of entrusting our lives to demagogues, who end up making us march on the serious ground.
Line by Line Meaning
It's just a magic trick, with the flick of a card
The rise to power by the would-be leader is nothing but a carefully staged illusion
And you're everyone's daddy, and you're a media star
The leader is idolized and elevated to a position of authority and wide recognition
And the grand old gentry, you know they're so composed
The traditional elites are outwardly calm and collected as they silently take power
While they take the power, from right under your nose
The ruling class secretly and gradually usurps control from ordinary people
And you thought that you'd never see the day
The change in the balance of power was unexpected
When the whole damn thing could be taken away
The entire system of governance was vulnerable to being overthrown
When the crowd starts waving that serious flag
The masses mobilize around a singular and focused symbol of power
And the boots start marching there ain't no turning back
The increase in militarization signifies a point of no return in the transformation of the system
And when the whole thing started
The initial stages of the power shift were not taken seriously
You thought it's only a joke
The early indicators of change were dismissed as inconsequential
You had a couple of laughs, everytime he spoke
The humor and charisma of the leader hid the true nature of his intentions
'Cause there's no reason to worry, no it can't happen here
The people did not expect any disruption to their way of life and were complacent
'Cause it's a third world story, and we got nothing to fear
The people regarded the events as something that happened only in developing nations and did not apply to them
And the crowd cries out with a glorious sound
The masses are ecstatic with the newfound power and sense of purpose provided by the leader
And the bonfire burns on the fertile ground
The hope and promise of a new future is ignited in the hearts of the people
And the fireworks light up in the moonbeam sky
The people celebrate the new order with grand and spectacular displays of joy
And the children watching with their labrador big eyes
The young generation witnesses the birth of a new era
You were right about the things you saw
The observer was keenly aware of the undercurrents of societal disruption
Reflected in the faces of those wild-eyed kids
The impact of the changes was particularly pronounced on the youth
The crowd surged like a dead thing waking
The masses appeared to come to life with newfound energy and direction
Crawling from the sludge of a cold black lake
The emergence of the people from a dark and stagnant place symbolizes a rebirth
Rising with their clenched teeth, jaws vibrating
The people are fiercely determined and ready for action
And the teeth clack-clack's such a curious sound
The sound of the people's agitation is eerie and unsettling
You can hear the voices, you can hear the sound
The clamor of the masses grows louder and more intense
When they start marching on the serious ground
The people mobilize and begin to take the situation more seriously
Boots start marching on the serious ground
The militarized forces of the ruling party become more visible and threatening
Start marching on the serious ground
The tone of the situation grows more somber and serious
It's just a magic trick, on a two-dollar stage
The spectacle of the rise to power is ultimately shallow and cheap
And when you blink your eyes
The transformation of the system happens quickly and suddenly
You find the world has changed
The changes are profound and fundamental
And the crazy old fuck, that was waving his arms
The leaders who once seemed comical and irrelevant have seized power
Is now running the circus, with an army of clowns
The new regime is chaotic and absurd
Well you know when the boots start hitting the ground
The possibility of violence becomes more imminent
And the crowd starts making that terrible sound
The people become more agitated and panicked
The flag starts waving with the fists in the air
The symbols of revolution become more prominent and threatening
And civilization dies, right there
The society as it was known comes to an end
The crowd cries out, the leader waves his hand
The people are still under the spell of the leader
Some tears are shed, but he seems to understand
The police state is not moved by displays of emotion
That in order to, set his people free
The leader claims his actions are motivated by a desire for liberation
Must erase the past, because nothing lasts
The past must be destroyed because it poses a threat to the new regime
Writer(s): Danny Elfman
Contributed by Aaliyah C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Adluv 67
Does anyone else feel like this is among the most important songs of a generation?
Nuclear Cat Baby
I feel like it’s the sequel to “What You See” and “Clowns of Death”
Xenophilia
What an amazing surprise!! After 37yrs Mr. Elfman returns with an album layered with amazing orchestral sounds. If he tours...I'm there!🙌
Lou McMahon
Love this! Elfman is so unique and brilliant.
SyrDoN
This album best win album of the year. I don't care what category.
Blyss
Excellent song! One of my favorites so far.
HBee5
This is definitely one of my favourites from the album.
Danielle L
I like this one a lot. The bassline is really good, I might learn it.
Rude Boys Podcast
Pretty sure that's Stu Brooks. Works with a lot of rappers so I think he knows how to lay down a groove.
Phil Machi
The whole album gives me DATEOTT and BOINGO vibes with some Serenada Schizophrana infused for good measure. Color me pleasantly surprised!