what is the great gatsby?
Ah, Daisy Buchanan, the single best part of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Not only did she give us the absolutely brilliant “beautiful little fool” quote, Daisy is, in my eyes, the true heroine of the novel. But that’s an argument for another day. Today we’re talking about the book’s influence on music, and what it is about this novel that inspires so many different artists.
Before that, though, I should probably lay out what this book is. It’s a book about class divide and money, and there’s a supposed love story in it too (though that attracted me less to the novel; I found Gatsby a bit insipid). If you haven’t read it yet, you probably should. It’s a really quick read, but there’s a lot in it. It particularly critiques the American Dream.
taylor swift’s ‘happiness’
Everybody either knows a Swiftie or is one. Taylor Swift’s influence is insane, yet you might not have noticed the Gatsby references in her song “Happiness.” The song is the seventh track on her album Evermore.
Here’s a list of every notable reference I noticed in the song:
- She mentions a winning smirk, Gatsby’s trademark
- She directly quotes the “beautiful fool” line
- The great divide could mean the divide between West Egg and East Egg (this also could mean their class divide, even though Gatsby now has money (old money versus new money))
- Repeated references to “above the trees” could refer to a line in Gatsby where he sees a hiding spot above the trees
- The “green light of forgiveness” — the “green light” is an important symbol in The Great Gatsby.
- “Leave it all behind” over and over could also reference the ending of the novel (spoilers! (where Daisy leaves)).
Overall, the song certainly refers to The Great Gatsby a number of times. The song as a whole is a breakup song, talking about how to move on — but it also refers to Swift’s identity, and making new albums as new eras. The idea of having to reinvent yourself for each album certainly surfaces here.
I did appreciate the references here, particularly as the song seems mostly likely to be from Daisy’s perspective. Like I said, I don’t really care for any Daisy x Gatsby romance, but some parts of the song were actually fairly moving.
But still: why use Gatsby here? Honestly, the song could have done just as well without it. I appreciated it, though, especially the “fool” and “green light” reference. Swift seems to be reinventing the narrative, which I also admire. It seems to be more of a stylistic thing; it seems like a song she wants to write rather than one she thought would do well in terms of virality. I think that’s part of why I like the song — it’s more personal, and therefore more interesting. I could go on for a long time about how I think Swift is now far more focused on making TikTok-able songs rather than genuine, heartfelt pieces, but that’s for another article.
ella jane’s ‘nothing else i could do’
Now you might not have heard of Ella Jane, but she’s an artist I got very into for a while. She’s also on record saying that the song is about The Great Gatsby, but even without that confirmation it would be very easy to know the song is about that novel.
- The call motif near the beginning is Gatsby trying not to call Daisy during their separation
- “Wrecking” his house – throwing parties
- Money in your laugh: Daisy is old money! Gatsby also says her voice is “full of money”
- The mention of “The Times” is reminiscent of Gatsby looking through the newspapers for any news on Daisy
- The start of the bridge mentions people dancing and drinking, which of course occurred at Gatsby’s parties. She then sings, “Because the high might be theirs/But all the bottles were mine” which is perhaps the most significant set of lines in the song. On this page on Genius.com, Ella says this about these specific lyrics:
I think it’s easy to pretend that just because you once “had” someone, they’re still partly in your “possession” even after they’ve moved on.
Ella Jane
- Crashing the car and taking the blame is obviously related to the novel, if you’ve read it
Here, Ella Jane takes on Gatsby’s voice more than any other character. This obviously makes sense since he is such a focal point of the novel, especially as he is the titular character, but I find what she does with it more interesting. The song relates to a breakup (The Great Gatsby just brings that out in both of these artists, I guess) and intertwines the references with her own experiences.
She uses the book as a theme to build the entire song around; it’s much less loose than Swift’s take. Specific plot points are mentioned, and the entire narration has a specific Jay Gatsby flair to it.
even lorde?
This is more of a joke than anything else — she mentions wanting that “green light,” but it seems to be more in reference to a traffic light than Gatsby. Still, a girl can dream.
how does it carry this much impact?
The answer is simple: Gatsby and Daisy.
The central themes of the novel — class divide in particular — lends itself very well to political songs. But these songs are not really political, necessarily. Instead, they dive into matters of the heart. That’s where a lot of people’s appreciation for the novel also comes from: the romance.
Whilst that romance in particular may not be my cup of tea (I stan Daisy too much for it), I can understand its allure. A review of the novel states this:
They are the greatest love story of all time. It is only in the case of this novel that that statement can be applied and be true.
https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2013/sep/12/review-great-gatsby-f-scott-fitzgerald
The romance has certainly resonated with many readers. Why not put it in a song, too?
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Read more of my work here! I recently critiqued Love Is Blind, and talked about the pitfalls of academia in our current age (as made clear in R. F. Kuang’s Katabasis).