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.
Way Back When
Danny Elfman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can we just do it again.
One more time like it once was...Way Back When.
You gave me something to believe in,
We were the best of friends.
Well I remember the good times...Way Back When.
Memories will fade if you wanted me to let you go,
I've got you on your way, i feel it for you don't you know.
We're superheroes and villains,
When we used to pretend.
We go wherever our minds will take us...Way Back When.
(La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la)
Memories will fade if you wanted me to let you go,
I've got you on your way, i feel it for you don't you know.
It's a promise that I made, never be afraid.
I know we'll be okay, this luck we have it cannot go.
Ahhhh oo, Ahhhh oo
And you're on own,
Ahhhh oo, Ahhhh oo
Y'not alone,
Ahhhh oo, Ahhhh oo
I know i'll see you again, again.
Ahhhh oo, Ahhhh oo
And if all these things,
Ahhhh oo, Ahhhh oo
Come to an end,
Ahhhh oo, Ahhhh oo
We'll always have...A Way Back When.
(La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la)
Memories will fade if you wanted me to let you go,
I've got you on your way, I'll be there for you don't you know.
It's a promise that I made, never be afraid.
I know we'll be okay, this luck we have it cannot go.
The song "Way Back When" by Danny Elfman appears to be a nostalgic reflection on the past, specifically childhood memories and relationships. The opening line, "There's always time for living, can we just do it again," suggests a desire to go back to a time that was simpler and more carefree. The next line, "You gave me something to believe in, we were the best of friends," further emphasizes the importance of relationships and connections in shaping one's identity.
Throughout the song, Elfman uses imagery of superheroes and villains, suggesting a childlike innocence and imagination that was lost with the passage of time. The line "We go wherever our minds will take us" suggests the boundless possibilities of childhood, while the repeated refrain "Way Back When" serves to anchor the nostalgic tone of the song.
The final lines of the song, "We'll always have...A Way Back When," further emphasize the importance of memories and the past in shaping who we become as individuals. Ultimately, the song seems to be about holding on to the past while also acknowledging the inevitability of change and growth.
Line by Line Meaning
There's always time for living,
Don't waste your life, there's enough time to do everything that you need to do.
Can we just do it again.
Let's try to do something we did before, that we enjoyed.
One more time like it once was...Way Back When.
Let's experience a moment like we did before, back in the days when things were good.
You gave me something to believe in,
You provided hope and inspiration for me.
We were the best of friends.
We had the best friendship.
Well I remember the good times...Way Back When.
I have fond memories of the past when things were better.
(La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la)
N/A
Memories will fade if you wanted me to let you go,
If you want to move on from our relationship, our memories together will gradually become less vivid.
I've got you on your way, i feel it for you don't you know.
I support you and want you to succeed in your journey, even if we have to part ways.
We're superheroes and villains,
We used to play pretend and act out different roles, both good and bad, and have fun with it.
When we used to pretend.
We enjoyed acting out different scenarios together.
We go wherever our minds will take us...Way Back When.
Our imagination was limitless back then, we could create and explore anything we wanted.
It's a promise that I made, never be afraid.
I promise to always be there for you, to never let you feel alone or scared.
I know we'll be okay, this luck we have it cannot go.
I trust that everything will work out for us, that we have a good fortune that won't run out.
Ahhhh oo, Ahhhh oo
N/A
And you're on own,
You're alone and have to rely on yourself.
Y'not alone,
You're not completely alone, I'm here for you.
I know i'll see you again, again.
I'm sure we'll meet again at some point, maybe even multiple times.
And if all these things,
Even if we experience all kinds of hardships and obstacles,
Come to an end,
Even if everything eventually ends,
We'll always have...A Way Back When.
We'll always have the memories of our past, of a time when things were good and simple.
Memories will fade if you wanted me to let you go,
If you no longer want me to be part of your life, our memories together will gradually become less vivid.
I've got you on your way, I'll be there for you don't you know.
I support you and will always be there for you, no matter what happens.
It's a promise that I made, never be afraid.
I promise to always be there for you, to never let you feel alone or scared.
I know we'll be okay, this luck we have it cannot go.
I trust that everything will work out for us, that we have a good fortune that won't run out.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ADAM MICHAEL ROTH, FREDRIK JONAS DANIEL ERIKSSON, SEBASTIAN ALEXANDER JUN FRITZE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind