progressive
rock
ska
Creative Commons license
Commercial uses of this track are NOT allowed
Adaptations of this track are NOT allowed to be shared
You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the artist
Story behind the song
This is my AP English project on the book, "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott. Fitzgerald (Good book!) Basically, the assignment was "Make a crative project about the book that adresses certain criteria. So, being me, I decided to write and record a song, in the style of the Original Dixieland Jass Band. In the "project", we had to adress symbolism, character development, critical thinking, important themes and the like, which you can kind of see in the song (which I got 100/100 on, by the way!) I had two weeks to write and record the whole thing, but didn't start until, oh, the day before it was due! Which was foolish, because my dad was working 3rd shift, I couldn't make any noise until 4:00pm, the day before it was due. Luckily, my friend, Amy, said I could go to her house and make music, so I packed up all my instruments and gear, and went to her house, where I worked straight for about four hours, writing the chord progressions and lyrics. But I didn't get a chance to record it that night, so I called in sick the next day (when it was due!) and spent the whole day recording it. FYI, I played all the instruments for it, and sang, which includes drums, piano (you can't really hear it, it's more for texture. But if it wasn't there, it'd sound hollow!), bass, trombone, trumpet (from Raffi!), clarinet, saxophone (from the school) and the lead vocals (pardon them, please!) Most of the horn parts were improvised on the spot, with minimal arranging (It was like "I'll play this note here, and hope I can wing another that'll sound good after it!) Also, this was my first time playing saxophone, EVER, so I didn't take a solo on it! Anyway, so I managed to get the whole song written and recorded, and mastered in two days, which was amazing (I never thought I'd be able to do it!) But, in the end, it was a good experience. Also, just so you know, this song is a bonus track to "Look @ The Sine", because it has nowhere else to go, and it's a perfectly good waste of a song if I don't put it somewhere. So may you enjoy it!
Lyrics
He was the Great Gatsby
From his beginnings in North Dakota, as a farmer’s boy,
To his days on a yacht with Dan
Now he got himself a mansion, on West Egg
And a pot of gold he can call his own—his American Dream
Now he’s got a dream, of a girl he knew before
She had promised him her heart, before the war
Things never seem to go, quite as planned
Daisy married a guy named Tom, and that’s the end,
--or so you thought!
For Gatsby had perseverance, and he had a dream
Nothing could stand in his way again
Working for Meyer Wolf, selling the moonshine
He will keep pushing on no matter, what the
“Gatsby believed in the green light” on the dock at night,
No matter how far it seemed
For no distance was too great, for Gatsby’s dreams
He would go to any length, even lose his means
He wanted Daisy, “Her voice is full of money”
But that’s okay to him
For she embodies, Jay’s desires
And everything he’s worked for since, he was called Jim
When did the American Dream, become the American Scheme,
To get rich quick, without working a lick
Can’t you see the decay, in the aristocracy
They’ll just bury themselves in their own “Valley of Ashes”
Poor poor Gatsby, he dug himself a hole
Of misguided ideals and extravagant hopes
On the hottest day, we was buried in that hole
By Wilson’s rage from T.J.’s sage wisdom
He’s the Great Gatsby
He’s the Great Gatsby!