This song is another of my girlfriend’s favorites. While this song does not contain any explicit references to the Great Gatsby, it discusses the American Dream and I thought it’d be interesting to analyze and compare it to the American Dream as we discussed in this class.
I’ve been American dreamin’, oh woah
I’m American dreamin’, oh woah
I’m American dreamin’, oh woah
But I never seem to get no rest
This is the chorus of the song. It resonates the main theme of the song, being that the singer is living their American dream, yet they seem to not get any rest. In this song, the singer misses someone back home and despite going around the country, presumably on tour, they are not satisfied with their success. It’s a different trope than what is seen in the Great Gatsby and other media. Usually the American dream is an ambitious, far-out goal that the character works to achieve. However, this trope instead explores the possibility that this goal is not what the character wanted after all.
Wake up again in an old motel
Is it somewhere different? I can’t tell
Every set of curtains opens to the open road
And I’m missing you like hell
This van is like a prison cell
And I know you have gone with her and I can’t go back home
The singer feels lost and uninterested in their tour. The chorus establishes that they are “American dreaming”, but this verse shows that they are not enjoying their goal. They are regretting leaving home and especially leaving someone who has now moved on.
I should get some rest today
Then pack my bags, be on my way
But my mind’s always workin’ on the way it could’ve been
Tryna tow a tightrope line
Find a way to feel half fine
Without drownin’ in this wine and callin’ you again
This lyric especially shows how the singer really regrets taking this path in life. They are “American dreaming” or living their goal, but they feel like they’re on the edge of using alcohol to cope and just giving up on their dream entirely by crawling back home.
From the novel, it can be seen that Gatsby’s “American dream” is getting Daisy back. He never questions this goal, never doubts that it is still possible, and when he does momentarily get her to stay with him, the only negative is that they haven’t married yet. This view of the American dream is what I would call the more traditional view of it. Given the time period that The Great Gatsby was written in, a time of roaring possibilities and economic wellness, it would make sense that the portrayal of the American dream is so idealistic. However, this song parallels a sentiment that is increasingly common in young people; that the American dream is not achievable. While it is the case that the singer lives the American dream, they “never seem to get no rest”, hinting that perhaps they haven’t achieved it all. This view of the American dream could be a product of the times; with high division among the American people and looming issues like climate change and wealth inequality, it recontextualizes the American dream is something more idyllic that is not satisfactory, or in terms of the song, restful.