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.
V. ''I Forget''
Danny Elfman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
SOLO
I had a thought that rapidly I lost,
I ask here and there,
where did I leave it?
Not here, not there,
not there or over there,
SOLO
not in the garden nor in the attic,
CHORUS
where could it have gonne?
SOLO
Where did it go?
don't know, don't know,
could I have left it at the café?
CHORUS
On a paper, in the fountain
With the coin I threw in?
Did it go swimming with a fish?
My dog perhaps carried it off, hidden behind his bone.
I sniff the garden secretly - could it be buried there?
Not here, not there, not over there,
I look there, I look here, and nothing, ah ...
A-one, a-two, and a-forgot,
my cleverness has left.
My story is erased again,
there is no today, nor never, nor afterward,
there is no today, nor never, nor afterward...
My reasoning fades out inside a cup of sugar,
my soul is turning into salt inside a drawer.
I am riding on a cloud that rises, rises, and rises,
And it will never stop; it leaves
it flies above the city; it leaves ...
O sensation! an inspiration
is just this moment coming to me!
Fascination and distraction -
tell me what I was talking about?
I go here, I go over there,
I go there, I go over here,
With a black crow that is chasing me. Ah!
I'm looking in the kitchen, in the garbage cans,
Inside a shoe, sunken in the sofa,
My life and reason going incognito are. I look under the tablecloth, in a loaf of bread,
On scribbles on paper long ago thrown away,
Decorations on cake, in the washing machine.
SOLO
My genius is gone, my idea escaped,
I have forgotten my plan, my story is lost.
CHORUS
How, how?
My thoughts have moved into a tin can.
Between pillow and mattress
my dream has gotten stuck.
Not here, nor there, nor over there,
I look there, and there, and nothing ...
they are swimming in the coffee,
dancing on the wall,
jumping around in a net
or in the soap, or in a vase,
or a balcony, or in the garden,
or in the hall, or among the salt,
or in a drawer, where is it,
where did it go... my life?.
SOLO
My thoughts have moved into a tin can.
My reasoning is fading...into where, into where is ...
SOLO AND CHORUS
Not here, nor there, nor anywhere. Ah!
The lyrics of Danny Elfman's song V. "I Forget" describe the experience of forgetting a thought or idea and being unable to locate it. The song begins with the singer searching for the lost thought, checking various locations but coming up empty-handed. The chorus reinforces this sense of frustration and confusion, highlighting the fact that the thought could be anywhere.
As the song progresses, the singer becomes more and more desperate, searching high and low for the elusive idea. In the second verse, the tone shifts slightly, as the singer describes the physical sensations associated with losing the thought, noting that their reasoning is fading and their soul is turning into salt.
Despite the sense of desperation and confusion permeating the song, there are moments of inspiration and creative energy. The final lines suggest that even if the lost thought can never be found, the search itself may yield unexpected results, with the black crow chasing the singer serving as a symbol of possibility and potential.
Line by Line Meaning
I had a thought that rapidly I lost,
I had an idea that went away quickly and I couldn't hold onto it.
I ask here and there, where did I leave it?
I try to remember where I put it but don't remember.
Not here, not there,
It's not in the places I've already looked.
not there or over there,
I've checked multiple places and it's not in any of them.
not in the garden nor in the attic,
It's not in any of the obvious places I could have left it.
where could it have gone?
I'm wondering where I could have possibly misplaced it.
Where did it go? don't know, don't know,
I really don't remember where I put it or what happened to it.
could I have left it at the café?
I'm considering the possibility that I left it at a particular place.
On a paper, in the fountain with the coin I threw in?
I consider possible places where I could have left it, like on a piece of paper thrown into a fountain.
Did it go swimming with a fish?
I'm half-jokingly speculating that maybe a fish took it.
My dog perhaps carried it off, hidden behind his bone.
I'm considering if my dog took it and hid it somewhere.
I sniff the garden secretly - could it be buried there?
I look around secretly in case it's in a spot where no one would think to look.
A-one, a-two, and a-forgot, my cleverness has left.
I had a clever idea but it's already left my mind.
My story is erased again, there is no today, nor never, nor afterward,
I've lost my story or plan, and as a result, it feels like there is no present, future, or anything to look forward to.
My reasoning fades out inside a cup of sugar,
My thinking ability is getting dulled, like sugar covering up something.
my soul is turning into salt inside a drawer.
I feel like I'm stuck and can't move or think in a drawer-like space.
I am riding on a cloud that rises, rises, and rises,
I feel like I'm floating and disconnected from reality.
And it will never stop; it leaves it flies above the city; it leaves ...
This cloud continues on without stopping and takes me further and further away from everything.
O sensation! an inspiration is just this moment coming to me!
I feel like I'm getting a new idea or inspiration.
Fascination and distraction - tell me what I was talking about?
I easily get distracted and forget what I was even thinking or talking about.
I go here, I go over there, With a black crow that is chasing me. Ah!
I feel like I'm running around aimlessly with no hint of where what I lost could be, and it feels like a crow is chasing me or haunting me.
I'm looking in the kitchen, in the garbage cans, Inside a shoe, sunken in the sofa,
I'm looking in random spots where I don't think it is, just in case it's there.
My life and reason going incognito are.
It feels like my life and logic are hiding like they don't even exist anymore.
I look under the tablecloth, in a loaf of bread, On scribbles on paper long ago thrown away, Decorations on cake, in the washing machine.
I am searching for what I lost in more and more ridiculous places without any luck.
My thoughts have moved into a tin can.
It feels like my thoughts are trapped and can't move around freely.
Between pillow and mattress my dream has gotten stuck.
I feel like I've lost an important dream and that it's stuck somewhere unreachable.
Not here, nor there, nor over there,
I still can't find what I lost despite searching all over the place.
they are swimming in the coffee, dancing on the wall, jumping around in a net or in the soap, or in a vase, or a balcony, or in the garden, or in the hall, or among the salt, or in a drawer, where is it, where did it go... my life?.
I imagine what could have happened to what I lost, picturing it in all sorts of absurd places, but I still feel stuck.
My genius is gone, my idea escaped, I have forgotten my plan, my story is lost.
I've lost my great idea and forgotten whatever my plan was, as well as my story.
How, how?
I am frustrated and looking for any explanation as to why what I lost completely vanished.
My thoughts have moved into a tin can. My reasoning is fading...into where, into where is ...
I feel my ability to think and reason well is fading away, and I don't know where it's going.
Not here, nor there, nor anywhere. Ah!
I am still looking desperately for what I lost but it's nowhere to be found.
Contributed by Alice N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
ANFREE style underground quilmes
Letra
Danny Elfman Serenada Schizophrana V I Forget
Pensamiento tuve
pero pronto extravié.
Pregunto aquí y allá
en dónde lo dejé.
Ni por aquí, ni por acá...
Ni por allí, ni por allá...
Ni en el jardín, ni en el desván.
¿Por dónde es que se irá?
¿En dónde está?
No sé, no sé...
¿Lo habré dejado en el café?
¿En un papel? ¿En la fuente?
¿Con la moneda que aventé?
¿Se fue nadando con un pez?
Mi perro quizás lo llevó
oculto tras su hueso.
Olfateo secreto el jardín,
¿será que lo enterró?
Ni por aquí, ni por acá, ni por allá...
Yo busco allí, yo busco allá, y nada...
Y uno y dos y me olvidé...
¡La astucia se me fue!
¡Mi historia se borró otra vez!
No hay hoy ni nunca ni después...
Se desvanece mi razón
en un tazón de azúcar.
Mi alma se convierte en sal
adentro de un cajón.
Estoy en una nube
que sube, sube, y sube...
Y nunca más se detendrá
-¡Se va!-,
y vuela sobre la ciudad
-¡Se va!-.
¡Oh, sensación! La inspiración
en este instante va llegando.
Fascinación y distracción,
¿dime de qué
estaba yo hablando?
Voy por aquí, voy por acá,
voy por allí, voy por allá...
Lo busco en la cocina,
en botes de basura,
adentro de un zapato,
hundido en el sofá.
Mi vida y mi razón
de incógnito están.
Busco bajo el mantel,
adentro de un pan,
escritos en papel
que hace tiempo boté.
De adorno en un pastel...
¡En una lavadora!
Mi genio se me fue,
mi idea se escapó
¿Cómo? ¿Cómo?
Mi plan se me olvidó,
mi historia se ha perdido.
¿Cómo? ¿Cómo?
Mi pensamiento se metió
adentro de una lata.
Entre una almohada y el colchón,
mi sueño se atascó.
Ni por aquí, ni por acá, ni por allá...
Yo busco ahí, yo busco allá
y nada.
Nadando están en el café,
bailando en la pared,
Saltando dentro de una red.
O en un jabón,
o en un jarrón,
o en un balcón,
o en el jardín,
o en el salón,
o entre la sal,
o en un cajón...
¿En dónde está?
¿A dónde fue... mi vida?
Mi pensamiento se metió
adentro de una lata,
se desvanece mi razón...
¿En dónde, en dónde está?
Ni por aquí, ni por acá, ni más allá. ¡Ah!
Michelle
Found the lyrics on lyricwikia:
I had a thought that rapidly I lost,
I ask here and there,
Where did I leave it?
Not here, not there,
Not there or over there,
Not in the garden nor in the attic,
Where could it have gonne?
Where did it go?
Don't know, don't know,
Could I have left it at the café?
On a paper, in the fountain
With the coin I threw in?
Did it go swimming with a fish?
My dog perhaps carried it off, hidden behind his bone.
I sniff the garden secretly - could it be buried there?
Not here, not there, not over there,
I look there, I look here, and nothing, ah ...
A-one, a-two, and a-forgot,
My cleverness has left.
My story is erased again,
There is no today, nor never, nor afterward,
There is no today, nor never, nor afterward...
My reasoning fades out inside a cup of sugar,
My soul is turning into salt inside a drawer.
I am riding on a cloud that rises, rises, and rises,
And it will never stop; it leaves
It flies above the city; it leaves ...
O sensation! an inspiration
Is just this moment coming to me!
Fascination and distraction -
Tell me what I was talking about?
I go here, I go over there,
I go there, I go over here,
With a black crow that is chasing me. Ah!
I'm looking in the kitchen, in the garbage cans,
Inside a shoe, sunken in the sofa,
My life and reason going incognito are. I look under the tablecloth, in a loaf of bread,
On scribbles on paper long ago thrown away,
Decorations on cake, in the washing machine.
My genius is gone, my idea escaped,
I have forgotten my plan, my story is lost.
How, how?
My thoughts have moved into a tin can.
Between pillow and mattress
My dream has gotten stuck.
Not here, nor there, nor over there,
I look there, and there, and nothing ...
They are swimming in the coffee,
Dancing on the wall,
Jumping around in a net
Or in the soap, or in a vase,
Or a balcony, or in the garden,
Or in the hall, or among the salt,
Or in a drawer, where is it,
Where did it go... my life?.
My thoughts have moved into a tin can.
My reasoning is fading... into where, into where is ...
Solo and chorus
Not here, nor there, nor anywhere. Ah!
ANFREE style underground quilmes
Letra
Danny Elfman Serenada Schizophrana V I Forget
Pensamiento tuve
pero pronto extravié.
Pregunto aquí y allá
en dónde lo dejé.
Ni por aquí, ni por acá...
Ni por allí, ni por allá...
Ni en el jardín, ni en el desván.
¿Por dónde es que se irá?
¿En dónde está?
No sé, no sé...
¿Lo habré dejado en el café?
¿En un papel? ¿En la fuente?
¿Con la moneda que aventé?
¿Se fue nadando con un pez?
Mi perro quizás lo llevó
oculto tras su hueso.
Olfateo secreto el jardín,
¿será que lo enterró?
Ni por aquí, ni por acá, ni por allá...
Yo busco allí, yo busco allá, y nada...
Y uno y dos y me olvidé...
¡La astucia se me fue!
¡Mi historia se borró otra vez!
No hay hoy ni nunca ni después...
Se desvanece mi razón
en un tazón de azúcar.
Mi alma se convierte en sal
adentro de un cajón.
Estoy en una nube
que sube, sube, y sube...
Y nunca más se detendrá
-¡Se va!-,
y vuela sobre la ciudad
-¡Se va!-.
¡Oh, sensación! La inspiración
en este instante va llegando.
Fascinación y distracción,
¿dime de qué
estaba yo hablando?
Voy por aquí, voy por acá,
voy por allí, voy por allá...
Lo busco en la cocina,
en botes de basura,
adentro de un zapato,
hundido en el sofá.
Mi vida y mi razón
de incógnito están.
Busco bajo el mantel,
adentro de un pan,
escritos en papel
que hace tiempo boté.
De adorno en un pastel...
¡En una lavadora!
Mi genio se me fue,
mi idea se escapó
¿Cómo? ¿Cómo?
Mi plan se me olvidó,
mi historia se ha perdido.
¿Cómo? ¿Cómo?
Mi pensamiento se metió
adentro de una lata.
Entre una almohada y el colchón,
mi sueño se atascó.
Ni por aquí, ni por acá, ni por allá...
Yo busco ahí, yo busco allá
y nada.
Nadando están en el café,
bailando en la pared,
Saltando dentro de una red.
O en un jabón,
o en un jarrón,
o en un balcón,
o en el jardín,
o en el salón,
o entre la sal,
o en un cajón...
¿En dónde está?
¿A dónde fue... mi vida?
Mi pensamiento se metió
adentro de una lata,
se desvanece mi razón...
¿En dónde, en dónde está?
Ni por aquí, ni por acá, ni más allá. ¡Ah!
Kaye PlagueDoc
I kinda have felt like a lot of Danny's film compositions recently have been lacking, but this album is amazing. Glad I found out about it. Didn't know he had done anything outside of the compositions after Boingo ended.
Kilo
Wow. I remember playing this in high school and those temple blocks just instantly sent me back. "Where has it gone... my life," indeed!
Piere Leveré
This is a truely amazing album!!!
suguruni deep
After many years this keep as one of my favourite songs
Dawn Renee Skaien
Thank you for sharing! Danny is truly so gifted. It is a shame that the Academy Awards doesn't truly appreciate all that he has done.
philli5n
I listen to Serenada Schizophrana a lot, and i love how i dont know what's being said, but it sounds so pretty :)
Tab Zillie
My favorite on this album.
Michelle
Found the lyrics on lyricwikia:
I had a thought that rapidly I lost,
I ask here and there,
Where did I leave it?
Not here, not there,
Not there or over there,
Not in the garden nor in the attic,
Where could it have gonne?
Where did it go?
Don't know, don't know,
Could I have left it at the café?
On a paper, in the fountain
With the coin I threw in?
Did it go swimming with a fish?
My dog perhaps carried it off, hidden behind his bone.
I sniff the garden secretly - could it be buried there?
Not here, not there, not over there,
I look there, I look here, and nothing, ah ...
A-one, a-two, and a-forgot,
My cleverness has left.
My story is erased again,
There is no today, nor never, nor afterward,
There is no today, nor never, nor afterward...
My reasoning fades out inside a cup of sugar,
My soul is turning into salt inside a drawer.
I am riding on a cloud that rises, rises, and rises,
And it will never stop; it leaves
It flies above the city; it leaves ...
O sensation! an inspiration
Is just this moment coming to me!
Fascination and distraction -
Tell me what I was talking about?
I go here, I go over there,
I go there, I go over here,
With a black crow that is chasing me. Ah!
I'm looking in the kitchen, in the garbage cans,
Inside a shoe, sunken in the sofa,
My life and reason going incognito are. I look under the tablecloth, in a loaf of bread,
On scribbles on paper long ago thrown away,
Decorations on cake, in the washing machine.
My genius is gone, my idea escaped,
I have forgotten my plan, my story is lost.
How, how?
My thoughts have moved into a tin can.
Between pillow and mattress
My dream has gotten stuck.
Not here, nor there, nor over there,
I look there, and there, and nothing ...
They are swimming in the coffee,
Dancing on the wall,
Jumping around in a net
Or in the soap, or in a vase,
Or a balcony, or in the garden,
Or in the hall, or among the salt,
Or in a drawer, where is it,
Where did it go... my life?.
My thoughts have moved into a tin can.
My reasoning is fading... into where, into where is ...
Solo and chorus
Not here, nor there, nor anywhere. Ah!
beautifullytragic1
My favorite of all his composures. Second to this would have to be Ice Dance and third would be Blue Strings.