Taylor released the song “Mirrorball” on her folklore album. The folklore album is very easy to compare to the narrative from The Great Gatsby due to the album being inspired by a love triangle. Every song on the album is written from different points of view of each perspective of the love affair. Though, for this blog post I want to do something a little different. The main part of the song I want to focus on is simply the title, I want to show parallels between what the title of the song means and how it applies to the protagonist of the novel, Jay Gatsby.
A mirrorball in a literal sense is a ball covered in small reflective surfaces, because of this no matter what side you look at it from, you will always see your reflection. Specifically, I want to describe what a mirrorball character is. A mirrorball character is the type of person who changes things about themselves to fit into specific social groups. Taylor wrote this song to describe how she would reflect people’s truest versions of themselves back to them because she was feeling imposter syndrome in the social circle she was in.
The last verse of the song is,
“I’m still a believer but I don’t know why
I’ve never been a natural
All I do is try, try, try
I’m still on that trapeze
I’m still trying everything
To keep you looking at me
Because I’m a mirrorball
I’m a mirrorball
I’ll show you every version of yourself
Tonight”
Gatsby, like the first lyric, was always a believer. He was a believer in the American Dream and his hopes of being with Daisy again. His desperate attempts to achieve his goals did have him walking on a trapeze like Taylor describes. The person he is reflecting on is Daisy, he throws luxurious parties in a desperate attempt to be with her again. Yet, he stops this once he realizes she is not fond of them. He simply reflects whatever she desires of him.
Because of this, Gatsby is a mirrorball character. He is always reflecting someone else’s desires to achieve a status in a specific social group. To get more specific, he is always reflecting on whatever Daisy desires of him. yes, he desired to climb the New York social ladder, but he only wanted to do that for Daisy. His persona was a reflection of her values.
The song parralles this in the opening lyric,
“I want you to know
I’m a mirrorball
I’ll show you every version of yourself tonight”