Originally published in the Hope College Blog by Rachel Leep.
One of the signs of a great classic is if it has lasting importance and impacts. One of the ways we can see The Great Gatsby taking on new meanings 100 years later is through different art forms. We have already talked a bit on this blog about how music is important to The Great Gatsby and its adaptations, but music outside of those also tie back into the book. Here are some songs that took inspiration or reference The Great Gatsby.
“All She Wants to Do Is Dance” by Don Henley (1984)
Eagles fans might be surprised to see Don Henley starting off this list, but his song “All She Wants to Do is Dance” is our first one. While there aren’t any direct references to Gatsby in them, the song’s writer Danny Kortchmar has talked about bits of The Great Gatsby being one of the big inspirations for this song, especially Daisy and Tom. Paired with the book The Ugly American by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer, Kortchmar was taking inspiration from rich American couples who seem oblivious to what is going on around them and how they are negatively affecting others.
“Great Gatsby” by Rod Wave (2023)
This song takes inspiration from Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship. It focuses on a previous relationship and the ideas of trying to get someone back from the past. Some of these lyrics do a great job of capturing some of the ideas from The Great Gatsby while still feeling modern:
“I threw the party of the century
And people came over, no one left sober
And it was all for you
It was all for you”
“Young and Beautiful” by Lana Del Ray (2013)
One of the biggest examples of this is “Young and Beautiful” by Lana Del Ray. Used as one of the main themes for the 2013 film adaptation, it stands on its own pretty well. The lyrics can be seen from Daisy’s point of view, considering the life she had with Gatsby but also thinking about her place in the world and the future. Genius has an interactive break down of the lyrics where people have broken down lines and compare them to both Del Ray’s life and Daisy’s.
“Like A Great Gatsby” by Elliott Murphy (1973)
Again another take on the story, Elliott Murphy takes the perspective of Gatsby rising to greatness. While it references the book right in the title, there are other mentions like “riding Doctor Ekelberg’s eyes to heaven.” He focused on the self-made side but also includes aspects of the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy with lines like these:
“Waiting for some dream lover like a great Gatsby
And then I look in the mirror and it’s only me”
“nothing else i could do” by ella jane (2020)
This song is my personal favorite on the list for several reasons. I found this song back in high school and wasn’t aware it even connected to The Great Gatsby for the first year or so I liked it. This song originally started off as an assignment from an English teacher in high school for The Great Gatsby. After beginning as the creative option to that assignment, it is now a huge hit with over 41,000,000 listens on Spotify alone. Because it is mainly focused on The Great Gatsby there are so many references throughout. I could write out all the lyrics, but I suggest you listen for yourself!
“I wrecked my house a hundred times just to see you walk into a room
But there was money in your laugh, so babe
There’s nothing else I could do”
Taylor Swift
If you are a big Swiftie, you might have picked up on the fact that she loves the Great Gatsby. Throughout her albums there are several references to the text with some being more obvious than others. One of our interns, Addie compiled this list of references to The Great Gatsby, but there might be even more!
“Happiness” (reference to Jazz Age)
- “I hope she’ll be a beautiful fool / Who takes my spot next to you,” alluding to Daisy Buchanan’s belief in the novel that the best thing a woman can be is a “beautiful little fool.”
- “Honey, when I’m above the trees / I see this for what it is,” likely a reference to a passage in Chapter 6 in which Gatsby is describing a “secret place above the trees” that serves as a metaphor for the paradise Gatsby assumes awaits him once he climbs the social ladder and weds Daisy.
- “the green light of forgiveness” near the end, with the green light being a metaphor for Gatsby’s hopes and dreams.
- the recurring theme of reinvention and the “your winning smile” lyric. The Great Gatsby is all about James Gatz reinventing himself as Jay Gatsby, and Nick makes a real meal out of describing Gatsby’s smile at various points throughout the novel.
“This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things”
- “Feeling so Gatsby for that whole year,” capping off a description of the decadent, carefree parties for which Gatsby is well known in the novel.
It was so nice throwing big parties
Jump into the pool from the balcony
Everyone swimming in a champagne sea
And there are no rules when you show up here
Bass beat rattling the chandelier
Feeling so Gatsby for that whole year
“Don’t Blame Me,”
- “I once was poison ivy, but now I’m your daisy.” It’s true she could just be juxtaposing flora, but given her love of Gatsby, I don’t want to disregard the possibility that this was intentional.
A fun way to test your knowledge is to take this quiz! Addie and I got 12/18 and 17/18, and it’s a fun one to take!
If you can think of other songs that have a connection to The Great Gatsby, comment them below!
The post From Don Henley to Taylor Swift: Songs That Reference The Great Gatsby appeared first on Big Read Lakeshore.
