Great Gatsby: If There's a Fifth Movie Version

Link to Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6dxqTGVg5rq9uUx5zB67Do

Great Gatsby is a staple of American literature. Likely every teenager to have gone through a public high school since 1970 has read this book. Of course, it's been adapted into many different movie versions. As of April 2021, it's my favorite book. Of course, I decided to make a soundtrack. What else was I supposed to do?

“Feels Like We Only Go Backwards” – Tame Impala

This song, written and performed by the band Tame Impala, incorporates a listless and longing tone in the track. The opening lines “It feels like we only go backwards / Every part of me says ‘go ahead’ / I got my hopes up, oh no, not again” are more passive than Gatsby’s attitude toward recreating the past, but it still resonates deeply. Gatsby’s desperation stemmed from his firm belief that recreating the past is absolutely possible – “Can’t repeat the past?’ he cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you can!” (Fitzgerald 110). This is why in Chapter 7, after Daisy has made her choice to stay with Tom and they conspire in the kitchen, Gatsby remains to watch over Daisy; at this point, he doesn’t know he’s already lost her and he’s “watching over nothing” (Fitzgerald 145). This scene is echoed in the song with the lines “But that’s the way it seems to go / When trying so hard to get to something real / It feels like I only go backwards, darling”. Similar to Gatsby’s base need to have Daisy again, Kevin Parker, the lead singer of Tame Impala, is reaching for something that is never quite in his grasp.

“Pennies From Heaven” – Louis Prima

“Pennies From Heaven” is an upbeat and carefree jazz song written in 1936. The lyrics are a classic jazz mix of raspy vocals, a blithe attitude, and idealistic lyrics. Prima jauntily sings of pennies raining down, and how “you’ll find your fortune falling all over town”. As previously stated, it is a very idealistic song – and jazz isn’t about being realistic. However, this song connects to The Great Gatsby not just through its jazzy style. This fortune falling into the upturned umbrella of an unsuspecting underdog is shockingly reminiscent of the American Dream. The American Dream is one of the main themes of the book, and American Dream itself is the idea that anyone can earn enough money for their background to be rendered irrelevant. Unfortunately, the idea that one can simply move classes with the acquisition of money is something that Fitzgerald proved is nearly impossible in America’s society. Gatsby believed that through “flipping his umbrella upside down” and finding ways to earn money that he could become the same social class as Daisy, which is one of the main ideas of the book. Unfortunately, Gatsby was only able to accomplish half of his dream – he achieved the wealth through work or “flipping the umbrella upside down”, but he was unable to achieve the dream of being Daisy’s complete social equal because he did not grow up with a constant source of inexhaustible family wealth.

“Cigarette Daydreams” – Cage the Elephant

“Cigarette Daydreams” is the modernized ‘love’ story of Daisy and Tom. Cage the Elephant lent this song with a lazy, unhurried manner that perfectly captures the “unmistakable air of natural intimacy” (Fitzgerald 145) Daisy and Tom seemed to always have because of their old money backgrounds. The backgrounds of the song are very simple: repetitive acoustic guitar, quiet accents of piano, and spare use of drums that allow the vocals to be showcased. There isn’t much to the song – it is very repetitive, and as previously stated, there is an unhurried manner. This unhurried manner doesn’t seem layabout; it’s intentional. This correlates with the self-assuredness that Tom and Daisy both have that although they may have affairs, they will always come back to each other. Tom admits that “once in a while I’ll have a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart I love her all the time” (Fitzgerald 131). It’s not the most romantic declaration, but it is insurance.

“Night Running” – Cage the Elephant (ft. Beck)

“Night Running” is careless, carefree, and irresponsible. It speaks to running through the night (what a surprise!) heedless of any caution. The lyrics are a poetic mix of warnings, dismissals, and testimonies of the beauty of letting go of responsibility. The background electric guitar and drums as well as the deep and dangerous croon of the vocals lend the song an air of recklessness. Where this song diverges from Tom and Daisy’s carelessness is access to money. “Never got no money / But I’m running from the gun” is a confession that is the opposite of how Tom and Daisy “smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their vast carelessness” (Fitzgerald 179). The most important and prevalent element of this song is the carelessness itself, which matches up with almost everything Tom or Daisy through the course of the novel.

“All I Want” by Kodaline

“All I Want” is a desperate ballad Kodaline is willing to die for. Sound familiar? It should! Gatsby is willing to do anything for Daisy, no matter the cost. He built a bootleg empire and earned what is suspected to be millions just at the chance to perhaps catch her attention one day. Kodaline is willing to give anything of himself just for another chance – “[give up] my body / [give up] my body”. Gatsby will give up anything for Daisy, as well. As soon as he suspects Daisy doesn’t enjoy the party of his that she went to, he gives up the parties. The backgrounds in the song are mostly spare, leaving space for Kodaline’s vocals to perfectly communicate the level of desperation. Gatsby’s absolute devotion to Daisy is evidence he believes her to be perfect.

“The Night We Met” – Lord Huron

This song is speculation, because unfortunately, Gatsby’s inner thoughts are never revealed. The most direct knowledge the reader has of Gatsby in this particular moment in this particular scene is when Gatsby admits he “stayed [in Louisville] a week, walking the streets where their footsteps had clicked together through the November night and revisiting the out-of-the-way places to which they had driven in her white car”. This of course would be a heart – wrenching and torturous experience, in which he desperately wished he could have her back and reflected on how the letters slowed and Daisy slowly slipped away. “The Night We Met” by Lord Huron is the same experience – “I had all and the most of you / Some and now none of you / Take me back to the night we met”. The pain in Lord Huron’s voice and the simple but building backgrounds throughout the song perfectly complement the vision of Gatsby’s broken heart.