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 IaΘi, 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 DariΓ©n: 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 TΕru 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".
The Butcher Boy
Elliot Goldenthal Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A butcher boy I loved so well
He courted me, my life away
And now with me he will not stay
I wish I wish but I wish in vain
I wish I was a maid again
But a maid again I ne'er can be
She went upstairs to go to bed
And calling to her mother said
Bring me a chair till I sit down
And a pen and ink till I write down
I wish I wish but I wish in vain
I wish I was a maid again
But a maid again I ne'er can be
Till apples grow on an ivy tree
He went upstairs and the door he broke
And found her hanging from her rope
He took his knife
And cut her down and in her pocket
These words he found
"Oh, make my grave large, white, and deep
Put a marble stone at my head and feet
And in the middle a turtle dove
So the world may know I died of love"
The Butcher Boy is a traditional Irish ballad often performed at weddings and other celebrations. It tells the story of a young woman who falls in love with a butcher boy, but he eventually leaves her alone and heartbroken. The lyrics express her longing to turn back the clock and be a maiden again, but she knows it's impossible. The second verse shows her despair as she asks for pen and paper to write down her last wishes, including the details for her own funeral. The last verse reveals her tragic fate as the butcher boy discovers her suicide note, and she asks to be remembered as a victim of love.
The song portrays the struggles of young love and its consequences when it goes awry. The first two verses reveal the intense emotions of love and heartbreak, and the third one concludes the story with a grim twist. The reference to the turtle dove in the last verse is symbolic of hope and love, but it also becomes a reminder of the woman's tragic death. The Butcher Boy is a haunting ballad that reflects the power of love and its impact on people's lives.
Line by Line Meaning
In Dublin town where I did dwell
This story takes place in Dublin town where I used to live
A butcher boy I loved so well
I was in love with a boy who worked as a butcher
He courted me, my life away
He romantically pursued me, and I was smitten
And now with me he will not stay
Unfortunately, he has chosen to leave me
I wish I wish but I wish in vain
I have a deep, unfulfilled desire that is impossible to achieve
I wish I was a maid again
I yearn for the simplicity and purity of my youth
But a maid again I ne'er can be
But I know I can never go back
Till apples grow on an ivy tree
Unless something impossible happens, like apples growing on an ivy tree
She went upstairs to go to bed
At night, she went up to her bedroom
And calling to her mother said
She called out to her mother for assistance
Bring me a chair till I sit down
She asked for a chair to sit on
And a pen and ink till I write down
And pen and ink, so she can write something down
He went upstairs and the door he broke
Upstairs, he forced the door open
And found her hanging from her rope
To his horror, he discovered her hanging from a rope
He took his knife
Reacting quickly, he took out his knife
And cut her down and in her pocket
He cut the rope, and in her pocket, he found a note
These words he found
The note contained these words
"Oh, make my grave large, white, and deep
"When I die, please make my grave large, white, and deep
Put a marble stone at my head and feet
And put a marble stone at my head and feet
And in the middle a turtle dove
And in the middle, place a statue of a turtle dove
So the world may know I died of love"
Thus, everyone will know that I died because of love
Lyrics Β© Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: J BAIRD, PD TRADITIONAL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
EC
A masterpiece. This film will stay with you for days. Eamonn Owens is brilliant.
Sarah Connors
Really scary too!
Samsmith99 Smith
@heaven4ne blackpool he works 9-5 job in big bank.
heaven4ne blackpool
Agreed.i checked him on wikipedia.i am wondering what is he doing..now.
Valerie O.
this is one of those movies that if you saw it - you'll never forget.
Fabian MacGinty O'Neill
It's one of my favourite films because even though it's hilarious, it's about how Ireland has never been able to properly deal with mental illness, and that remains one of Ireland's biggest problems even today. Neil Jordan's best film, by far.
Fabian MacGinty O'Neill
@Conan I wasn't implying that any country has dealt with mental illness or ever truly will, but Ireland has a particularly bad cultural tendency to suppress trauma and bury guilt, most likely as a consequence of years of brutal occupation by both the British empire and the Catholic church, which this film shows very well.
QueenDynamo
@Conan Many countries do now, although poorly.
Sarah Connors
So many cultural issues addressed in this movie.
heaven4ne blackpool
One of the masterpiece and a movie which is hard to forget.recently i knew this movie is the based on the book with same title.i saw this movie about 20yr ago.Main actor(kid)'s acting is speechless.Stephen Rea is great actor.