Goldenthal was born on May 2, 1954, the youngest son of a Jewish housepainter father and a Catholic seamstress mother in Brooklyn, New York City, where he was influenced from an early age by music from all cultures and genres. Both pairs of Goldenthal's grandparents emigrated to the United States from Bucharest and Iași, Romania. Goldenthal lived in a multi-cultural part of town, and this is reflected in his works. He attended John Dewey High School in Brooklyn where, at the age of 14, he had his very first ballet Variations on Early Glimpses performed; he continued to display his eclectic musical range, performing with rock bands in the seventies. He then studied music full-time at the prestigious Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with composer John Corigliano (whom he greatly admired), to earn his Bachelor of Music degree (1977) and Master of Music degree (1979) in musical composition.
Goldenthal has written works for concert hall, theater, dance and film. His work includes music for films such as Alien 3, Michael Collins, Batman Forever, Heat and the Academy Award-winning score for Julie Taymor's Frida, a movie in which Goldenthal had a small acting part as a "Newsreel Reporter". Incidentally he also had a small part in the stage show Juan Darièn as a "Circus Barker / Streetsinger".
The Tony-Award-winning Juan Darién: A Carnival Mass (1988/'96) and The Green Bird (1999), based on a story by Carlo Gozzi, are a two of the composer's theatre works. In 2006, Goldenthal completed his original three-act opera with Taymor entitled Grendel an adaptation of the John Gardner novel of the same name which told the story of Beowulf from the monster Grendel's point of view. It had its world premiere in early June 2006 at the Los Angeles Opera, the role of Grendel performed by Eric Owens, with an audience that included John Williams and Emmy Rossum; the opus was added to the Los Angeles Opera's permanent repertoire and earned Goldenthal a nomination in April 2007 for the Pulitzer Prize for Music. In 2008 Goldenthal reunited with Michael Mann to score 1930s gangster movie Public Enemies and in 2009 he scored another Julie Taymor Shakespeare adaptation, The Tempest. He cites Japanese composer Tōru Takemitsu as an influence and someone he styles his own career on; Goldenthal has said that the lines between traditional concert music and orchestral film score have become more blurred which is the way he thinks it should be. He has also collaborated four times with Irish director Neil Jordan, including on his films Interview with the Vampire and In Dreams.
Elliot Goldenthal has been called the "thinking man's composer" by film-music collectors and a generally more cerebral choice for film makers and lovers of film music. He is known for his experimentation, nuances and willingness to try unconventional techniques. He has scored films in almost every genre from horror to action to Shakespeare adaptations. He has not yet scored comedy, but he has composed comedic motifs for several films such as Demolition Man and the Batman series. His eclectic output has gained him a great deal of respect in the music and film communities and with fans. He is widely appreciated for his musical abilities and distinctive style, although some find his work to be too experimental or inaccessible. His action music is brutal and atonal. Sometimes, in underscore, he uses very fast French horn passages with bending tones and whining. Goldenthal has said that he doesn't "hear" atonal and tonal, rather, "I either hear melody or I hear sonority".
Love Me or Leave Me
Elliot Goldenthal Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can't stand uncertainly
Tell me now I've got to know
Whether you want me to stay or to go
Love me or leave me
Or let me be lonely
You won't believe me, I love you only
Then happy with someone else
You might find the night time
The right time for kissin'
But night time is my time
For just reminiscin'
Regrettin' instead of forgettin'
With somebody else
There'll be no one
Unless that someone is you
I intend to be independently blue
I want your love
But I don't want to borrow
To have it today to give it back tomorrow
For your love is my love
There's no love for nobody else
Elliot Goldenthal’s song Love Me or Leave Me is a poignant expression of emotional vulnerability and the agony of uncertainty in a relationship. The lyrics convey the singer's agony of indecision as they seek clarity from their partner about the future of their relationship. The song captures the feeling of being trapped in a love affair that is emotionally draining and overwhelming.
The opening lines, "This affair is killin' me, I can't stand uncertainly" sets the tone for the rest of the song. The singer is desperate for answers and wants to know whether the person they love wants them to stay or to go. The chorus of the song, "Love me or leave me, or let me be lonely, you won't believe me, I love you only," is a plea for clarity and a desire to be loved entirely or not at all.
The second verse of the song recounts the singer's longing for their lover and the agony of watching them be with someone else. The lyrics, "I'd rather be lonely than happy with someone else, you might find the night time, the right time for kissin', but night time is my time for just reminiscin'" relay a sense of longing and heartache. The final lines of the song, "I want your love, but I don't want to borrow, to have it today to give it back tomorrow, for your love is my love, there's no love for nobody else" encapsulate the essence of the singer's vulnerability and the depth of their love.
Overall, Love Me or Leave Me is a beautiful and poignant song that captures the haunting feeling of being trapped in a love affair that is emotionally overwhelming and uncertain.
Line by Line Meaning
This affair is killin' me
I cannot continue in this relationship anymore
I can't stand uncertainly
I am tired of not knowing where I stand in this relationship
Tell me now I've got to know
Please be honest with me and tell me where this relationship is headed
Whether you want me to stay or to go
I need to know whether you want us to continue or end this relationship
Love me or leave me
You have to make a decision - either love me fully or break it off
Or let me be lonely
I would rather be alone than in a relationship where I am not wanted fully
You won't believe me, I love you only
My love for you is genuine
I'd rather be lonely
Being alone is better than being with someone who does not love me fully
Then happy with someone else
I will not compromise my feelings for anyone else
You might find the night time
You may believe that night is the right time for kissing
The right time for kissin'
In your opinion, night time is suitable for intimacy
But night time is my time
However, I prefer night time for thinking and reflecting
For just reminiscin'
I prefer to remember past experiences instead of making new ones
Regrettin' instead of forgettin'
I would rather regret past mistakes than forget them completely
With somebody else
I cannot imagine making new memories with anyone else
There'll be no one
I do not want anyone else
Unless that someone is you
The only person I want is you
I intend to be independently blue
Even if you do not choose me, I will find a way to be happy alone
I want your love
I desire your affection
But I don't want to borrow
But I do not want your love temporarily
To have it today to give it back tomorrow
I do not want to have it now only to lose it later
For your love is my love
Your love is the only love I desire
There's no love for nobody else
No one else can ever replace your love for me
Lyrics © DONALDSON PUBLISHING CO, TOBAGO MUSIC COMPANY, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Gus Kahn, Walter Donaldson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Vanessa Garcia
billie holiday love her music :)
dark anter
its so gangestr classicly
rachael owens
God i luv this soundtrack this is the sex scene billie and john, god wish to be billie*drools*