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".
Macushla
Elliot Goldenthal Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your sweet voice is calling,
Calling me softly,
Again and again,
Macushla! Macushla!
I hear it in vain.
Macushla, Macushla,
I feel them enfolding,
Caressing me still.
Fling them out from the darkness,
My lost love, Macushla,
Let them find me and bind me
Again, if they will.
Macushla! Macushla!
Your red lips are saying
That death is a dream,
And love is for aye,
Then awaken, Macushla,
Awake from your dreaming,
My blue-eyed Macushla,
Awaken to stay.
The song "Macushla" by Elliot Goldenthal is a heartbreaking ballad that tells the story of a person who deeply misses their lost love. The haunting refrain "Macushla! Macushla!" represents the sweet voice of the loved one that keeps calling to the singer, but never comes back. The lyrics suggest that the loved one has already passed and is just a memory that the singer cannot let go of.
The verses vividly describe the singer's longing for their lost love, using powerful imagery to convey the pain and desperation felt by the singer. The reference to the "white arms" of Macushla reaching out from the darkness and enveloping the singer is particularly poignant, as it suggests that the singer is yearning for a sense of comfort and protection that only their lover can provide. The final verse is perhaps the most moving, as the singer urges Macushla to awaken from her dreaming and return to them, so they can be together once again.
Overall, "Macushla" is a beautiful but tragic song that speaks to the universal human experience of loss and grief. The haunting melody and evocative lyrics make it a timeless classic that will continue to move listeners for years to come.
Line by Line Meaning
Macushla! Macushla!
The singer is passionately calling out to their loved one.
Your sweet voice is calling,
The singer hears the voice of their beloved, which fills them with emotion and longing.
Calling me softly,
The voice of the beloved is gentle and comforting to the singer.
Again and again,
The artist keeps hearing the voice of their beloved, but is unable to reach them.
I hear it in vain.
The artist's attempts to answer or reach the voice of their beloved are fruitless.
Your white arms are reaching,
The singer visualizes their loved one stretching their arms out to embrace them.
I feel them enfolding,
The singer imagines being held tightly in the arms of their loved one.
Caressing me still.
The artist feels the loving touch of their beloved, despite being physically apart.
Fling them out from the darkness,
The artist pleads with their loved one to come out of obscurity and show themselves.
My lost love, Macushla,
The artist realizes the depth of their love, as their loved one is lost to them.
Let them find me and bind me
The singer hopes to be reunited with their beloved and held tightly once again.
Again, if they will.
The artist will joyfully accept their beloved's embrace if they return to them.
Your red lips are saying
The singer imagines their loved one whispering sweet nothings into their ear.
That death is a dream,
The singer believes that death is not the end, but a mere transition.
And love is for aye,
The singer believes that love is eternal, transcending time and space.
Then awaken, Macushla,
The artist urges their beloved to wake up from their slumber and come back to them.
Awake from your dreaming,
The artist hopes that their loved one will leave behind any illusions and come closer to reality.
My blue-eyed Macushla,
The singer describes the physical features of their beloved, emphasizing their unique character.
Awaken to stay.
The singer hopes that their beloved will never again disappear from their life and will stay by their side forever.
Contributed by Scarlett B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
ChuckSteele
Macushla! Macushla!
Your sweet voice is calling,
Calling me softly, Again and again,
Macushla! Macushla!
I hear it in vain.
Macushla, Macushla,
Your white arms are reaching,
I feel them enfolding,
Caressing me still.
Fling them out from the darkness,
My lost love, Macushla,
Let them find me and bind me
Again, if they will.
Macushla! Macushla!
Your red lips are saying
That death is a dream,
And love is for aye,
Then awaken, Macushla,
Awake from your dreaming,
My blue-eyed Macushla,
Awaken to stay.
Enrique Franco
Michael Collins is a legend, a national hero, a badass Irishman
Shyam Devadas
All true labels for him, but don't forget the most important one: Peacemaker. Like a lot of great soldiers throughout history, he recognized the limits of force and violence in creating lasting liberty, peace, and prosperity. He also looked inward and saw the imperfections of his own attitudes and approaches. As the movie concludes, it was ironic that he died while attempting to shift Ireland away from violent change.
Emme Madden
I can't tell you how much this song means to me. My much loved Mother sang this song to me when I was a baby and it will always make my heart sing with joy, thank you. Emme
Mike Saunders
Never heard of Frank Patterson but he and his band are very good. But this is such a great song. Even better with a few beers.
ChuckSteele
Macushla! Macushla!
Your sweet voice is calling,
Calling me softly, Again and again,
Macushla! Macushla!
I hear it in vain.
Macushla, Macushla,
Your white arms are reaching,
I feel them enfolding,
Caressing me still.
Fling them out from the darkness,
My lost love, Macushla,
Let them find me and bind me
Again, if they will.
Macushla! Macushla!
Your red lips are saying
That death is a dream,
And love is for aye,
Then awaken, Macushla,
Awake from your dreaming,
My blue-eyed Macushla,
Awaken to stay.
Emme Madden
Thank you for the words I will sing them with love to my own tune. Emme
m k
My favourite scene in the whole film.
Becky Coggan
This...beautiful, haunting & just enough of a nod to maudlin heartache 💔
Andrew Quinn
The greatest of us all
Many irish have no idea how ireland has never recovered since his loss the english feared him more than any irishman in history.
Mike Galvin
One of the great what if history questions: If he had lived and his vision of an open, outward looking free Ireland had prevailed over de Valera's priest ridden backward one which left Ireland mired in poverty for over half a century.