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 (nรฉe 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 โ 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 โ 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.
Sorry
Danny Elfman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(I'm so, I'm so sorry)
(Sorry, sorry)
(I'm so, I'm so, I'm so, I'm so, I'm so)
(So-, so-, so-, so-, so-)
(I'm so, I'm so)
(So-, so-, so-)
(I'm so, I'm so)
(Sorry)
(I'm so sorry, sorry)
(I'm so, I'm so sorry)
(I'm so, I'm so, I'm so, I'm so, I'm so)
There isn't time for revolution
There isn't time to evolutionize or hide
Those things most precious
Our most precious
Things that got erased, corrupted, infiltrated
I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry
(Sorry)
(I'm so sorry)
(I'm so sorry)
(Sorry)
(I'm so sorry, sorry)
(I'm sorry)
(I'm so sorry)
(I'm so sorry)
(I'm so, I'm so)
(I'm so, I'm so sorry)
(I'm so, I'm so)
I'm gonna try, I'm gonna try
To get away from your compelling
Mist of lies and misconceptions
No protection, no escape
Where I will never have to see your fucking face
You suffocate me
I can't breathe while you're alive
I can't breathe while you're alive
You suffocate, you suffocate
And I'm so sorry that I didn't die
Or just evaporate into a toxic cloud
It's gonna break, it's gotta break
It's made of glass, it's gonna break
And all the hate that you collected
And infused into protected piles of shit
Glass eyed devotees will flock to your gates
Your house is on fire, your house is on fire
Pull it forward, pull it back
Your eyes are empty, cold and black
We gotta break it, we gotta break it
We gotta break that fucking jack whip
On a broken hip, my life is a joke if I can't even breathe
Sorry you exist because you suck the fucking air out of my lungs
I am not afraid to die, still alive, still alive
And I won't let you bury me
Danny Elfman's song "Sorry" speaks of regret and the need to apologize. The song starts with Elfman acknowledging the fact that there is no time for change- no time for revolution or evolution. The things that were once precious to people have been erased, corrupted, or infiltrated, leaving nothing but apologies. Elfman continues to sing that he is sorry, perhaps for not being able to prevent the loss of those precious things.
The song then takes a darker turn, as Elfman sings about being suffocated and unable to breathe while someone is alive. He wishes to get away from their lies and misconceptions, to escape their presence entirely. Elfman speaks of the hate that has been collected by someone and infused into a "protected pile of shit." The glass-eyed devotees, who have been blinded by lies, are now flocking to their gates. Elfman continues to sing about the need to break away from their control and to break that "fucking jack whip."
The song concludes with Elfman's statement that he is not afraid to die, and he won't let the person bury him. The song is open to interpretation, but it appears to be centered around the idea of apologizing for not being able to prevent something terrible from happening. It also speaks about the need to break free from the control of another person, to escape their lies and misconceptions. Overall, it is a song about regret, suffocation, and the need for freedom.
Line by Line Meaning
(Sorry)
Apologizing for what has been done.
(I'm so, I'm so sorry)
Expressing deep regret.
(Sorry, sorry)
Continuing to apologize for actions taken.
(I'm so, I'm so, I'm so, I'm so, I'm so)
Emphasizing the depth of remorse.
(So-, so-, so-, so-, so-)
Echoing the repetition of apologies.
(I'm so, I'm so)
Repeating remorseful sentiment.
(So-, so-, so-)
Echoing the repetition of apologies once again.
(I'm so, I'm so)
Repeating deep regret for actions taken.
(Sorry, sorry, sorry)
Continuing to apologize repeatedly.
(Sorry)
Apologizing once again.
(I'm so sorry, sorry)
Repeating the apology with added emphasis on regret.
(I'm so, I'm so sorry)
Reiterating deep remorse.
(I'm so, I'm so, I'm so, I'm so, I'm so)
Emphasizing the depth of regret.
There isn't time for revolution
Acknowledging a lack of opportunity for change.
There isn't time to evolutionize or hide
Recognizing the inability to adapt or escape.
Those things most precious
Referring to highly valuable aspects of life.
Our most precious
Reiterating the importance of these aspects.
Things that got erased, corrupted, infiltrated
Expressing damage and harm done to important aspects of life.
I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry
Repeating deep regret for harm done.
I'm gonna try, I'm gonna try
Expressing a desire to take action.
To get away from your compelling
Wishing to escape from a situation.
Mist of lies and misconceptions
Referring to an atmosphere of deceit and misunderstanding.
No protection, no escape
Feeling vulnerable and trapped.
Where I will never have to see your fucking face
Expressing a strong desire to avoid someone.
You suffocate me
Feeling suffocated and restrained by someone's actions.
I can't breathe while you're alive
Feeling restricted and oppressed in someone's presence.
And all the hate that you collected
Referring to negative emotions and actions taken by someone.
And infused into protected piles of shit
Describing the negativity perpetuated by someone in a harmful way.
Glass eyed devotees will flock to your gates
Describing people who blindly follow and support someone harmful.
Your house is on fire, your house is on fire
Suggesting impending danger and harm.
Pull it forward, pull it back
Unclear, possibly referring to manipulation and control.
Your eyes are empty, cold and black
Describing someone as cold, distant, and lacking emotion.
We gotta break it, we gotta break it
Expressing a desire to break free from someone's grasp.
We gotta break that fucking jack whip
Referring to breaking free from someone's harmful influence and control.
On a broken hip, my life is a joke if I can't even breathe
Expressing a deep sense of despair and vulnerability.
Sorry you exist because you suck the fucking air out of my lungs
Describing someone as a source of restriction and oppression.
I am not afraid to die, still alive, still alive
Expressing a sense of resilience and strength despite difficulties.
And I won't let you bury me
Refusing to succumb to someone's harmful influence and control.
Lyrics ยฉ BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Danny Elfman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Myuu
Another amazing track and terrific video! I am so glad Danny Elfman is doing more of this!
Mr. Banner
@Nick Hanley waaaaay more! But you probably already know about the new album
SyrDoN
Me too. This is him shining.
Mj F
@Nick Hanley he gets 12 dollars a year from me then.
No One
A new song every 11th of the month for the rest of the year, as I understand. I believe the one due for Feb 11 is entitled โLove in the Time of Covid.โ
Nick Hanley
@Mj F dude... Am I wrong? I understand he will make 1 new song every month for the foreseeable future?
Seth Collazo
These new releases from Danny Elfman are proof that he's still just as insane as when he was in Oingo Boingo in the 80's. 30+ years of film scoring didn't change this man at all, and I love it.
John Braun
Ohhh... Ohhh... It changed him. It definitely changed him. Much, much for the better...
Justin Wells
This is a lil' weirder
Anxious Neck Games
Insane is the wrong word. The word is genius.