What’s This? by Danny Elfman Lyrics Meaning – Unwrapping the Enchantment of Christmas Town
Lyrics
There’s color everywhere
What’s this?
There’s white things in the air
What’s this?
I can’t believe my eyes
I must be dreaming
Wake up, Jack, this isn’t fair
What’s this?
What’s this? What’s this?
There’s something very wrong
What’s this?
There’s people singing songs
What’s this?
The streets are lined with
Little creatures laughing
Everybody seems so happy
Have I possibly gone daffy?
What is this? What’s this?
There’s children throwing snowballs
Instead of throwing heads
They’re busy building toys
And absolutely no one’s dead
There’s frost on every window
Oh, I can’t believe my eyes
And in my bones I feel the warmth
That’s coming from inside
Oh, look
What’s this?
They’re hanging mistletoe, they kiss?
Why that looks so unique, inspired
They’re gathering around to hear a story
Roasting chestnuts on a fire
What’s this?
What’s this?
In here they’ve got a little tree, how queer
And who would ever think
And why?
They’re covering it with tiny little things
They’ve got electric lights on strings
And there’s a smile on everyone
So, now, correct me if I’m wrong
This looks like fun
This looks like fun
Oh, could it be I got my wish?
What’s this?
Oh my, what now?
The children are asleep
But look, there’s nothing underneath
No ghouls, no witches here to scream and scare them
Or ensnare them, only little cozy things
Secure inside their dreamland
What’s this?
The monsters are all missing
And the nightmares can’t be found
And in their place there seems to be
Good feeling all around
Instead of screams, I swear
I can hear music in the air
The smell of cakes and pies
Are absolutely everywhere
The sights, the sounds
They’re everywhere and all around
I’ve never felt so good before
This empty place inside of me is filling up
I simply cannot get enough
I want it, oh, I want it
Oh, I want it for my own
I’ve got to know
I’ve got to know
What is this place that I have found?
What is this?
Christmas Town?
For many, the catchy tune of ‘What’s This?’ from Tim Burton’s ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ may just be a quirky holiday number. However, underneath the whimsical surface, Danny Elfman’s masterpiece is a tapestry interwoven with threads of curiosity, discovery, and the contrast of worlds colliding. So, what does Elfman really convey through the bewilderment of Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, as he stumbles upon the technicolor vibrancy of Christmas Town?
Deeper than its initial joviality and seasonal glee, the fabric of ‘What’s This?’ presents a complex and fascinating introspection on the nature of experiencing the new, the joy of innocence rediscovered, and the embodiment of holiday spirit. Let’s peel back the layers of this enigmatic piece and delve into the sheer essence of its message, as if unwrapping a carefully packed gift, revealing its core, one verse at a time.
The Shock of the New: A Journey from Noir to Technicolor
Imagine living a life defined by the monochrome, where shadows dominate and the extraordinary is the macabre. This is Jack Skellington’s Halloween Town, a world where the dark and eerie are celebrated. Then, in the flip of a song, Danny Elfman plucks Jack from this familiar haunt and drops him mid-wonder into the kaleidoscope that is Christmas Town. This shock of the new — this abrupt shift from grayscale to a palette of infinite colors — serves as the heart of the tune.
In his wide-eyed bewilderment, Elfman empowers Jack with a childlike innocence. There’s a palpable sense of wonder, a desire to reach out and touch the warmth that seems so foreign to his blighted hand. The song becomes a spirited ode to the discovery of joy so potent it brings the once-dreary to life in ways they never deemed possible.
A Carillion of Joy: The Euphony of Christmas Town
Elfman masterfully employs a carousel of melodies, from the eager pizzicatos to the exuberant brass, to paint an aural portrait of festivity and mirth. Each instrument joins in Jack’s parade of delight, echoing his intrigue. In the ephemeral stanzas, he brings Halloween and Christmas together, interlacing them with jubilant choruses and the magic of musical storytelling.
The song crescendos with the realization of Christmas as a symphony, contrasting Jack’s experience of silence punctuated only by screams. ‘What’s This?’ isn’t merely a song; it’s a transformative experience that underscores music’s power to evoke visceral reactions that transcend our sensory boundaries.
The Subversion of Expectation: Whimsy as Reality
Danny Elfman’s ‘What’s This?’ is also a study in subversion. It takes what we anticipate — the grim and ghoulish from the likes of Jack — and shatters it with the naiveté of one stumbling upon beauty where they least expect it. The townsfolk are merry and bright rather than dour and morbid, snowballs replace severed heads, and laughter trumps screams.
This whimsically flipped reality is Elfman’s playful critique of how we become entrenched in our worldviews and expectations. In a single song, he urges us to break free from the trappings of our norms and revel in the enchantment of our not-so-ordinary surroundings.
The Palette of Emotional Growth: Jack’s Existential Glee
The narrative arc of ‘What’s This?’ is a crescendo of emotional discovery. We are privy to Jack’s internal awakening as he realizes the depth of his longing for something he lacked the words to describe. Elfman doesn’t just depict a physical exploration but an existential one that questions the completeness of our joys and the breadth of our experiences.
Jack’s existential glee serves as a mirror to our own potential discoveries. Elfman’s song serves as a call to awaken our dormant desires, to explore the ‘Christmas Towns’ that lie just beyond our self-imposed borders. In so doing, he reminds us that growth often waits just outside the lines of our coloring books.
Lyrical Labyrinths: Probing the song’s Hidden Relevance
Each questioning lyric, from ‘What is this place that I have found?’ to ‘Have I possibly gone daffy?’, is Elfman’s invitation to roam the labyrinths of meaning within ‘What’s This?’. The song’s seemingly guileless inquiry conceals a deeper intellectual seeking; it represents our search for the undefinable, the serendipities that truly make life sparkle.
As it comes to a close, ‘What’s This?’ leaves its audience suspended between Jack’s wonder and their interpretation — offering a silent acknowledgment that the quest for understanding is boundless, that sometimes the greatest depth is found within the simplest of questions: What’s this?
