American Dynasty

….And we are back to Taylor Swift again this week analyzing another song off of her album, Folklore. The song is called “The Last Great American Dynasty” and although I know the song is not technically about the Great Gatsby; I felt that it could still be compared. The song represents a storyline of a woman who married a rich man and bought a very nice house and then the rest is considered a “great American dynasty.” The song in my opinion shows a parallel to the American Dream ideals and the lavish lifestyle we read about in the novel. The first verse reads, 

The wedding was charming, if a little gauche

Theres only so far new money goes

They picked out a home and called it “Holiday House”

Their parties were tasteful, if a little loud

This verse immediately reminded me of Daisy and Tom’s marriage as they lived in an extravagant mansion and flaunted their wealthy lifestyle, but as it says new money only goes so far. I thought this line was ironic because they did not have much “new money” as most of their wealth was inherited, so as that new money wore off; their marriage lost its luster. Now the last line in this verse does not really pertain to their relationship but instead as a parallel to Gatsby’s parties, specifically the one those two attended. Then the chorus goes, 

There goes the last great American dynasty

Who knows if she never showed up, what coudlve been

There goes the maddest woman this town has ever seen

She had a marvelous time ruinin everything 

Now for the chorus I interpret it in a broader context from Gatsby’s point of view. I consider the term “American dynasty” closely related to American Dream. This is because Daisy was Gatsby’s dream and let’s be honest they would’ve been a power couple so when Taylor says “there goes the last great American dynasty;” I imagine their theoretical relationship would’ve been a “fulfillment” of that dynasty. But then if Daisy had never showed up in Gatsby’s life; he probably would’ve had a completely different outcome. And the last line might be a little controversial because although Daisy honestly did the opposite of ruin Gatsby’s life; he also did not achieve his end goal of being with her; so that could be taken as her ruining everything he had prepared for her.

The last lines to mention in this song are not really directly related to The Great Gatsby but they are like hidden easter eggs that are important to note. The first one is “filled the pool with champagne and swam with the big names,” and the reason I think it is important is because it represents the extravagant parties that the novel focuses on. Another line says “pacing the rocks, staring out at the midnight sea,” and I connected this quote to Gatsby when he stares at the bay in the dark waiting for a sign from Daisy. And the last one I thought was just kind of funny and it reads “She stole his dog and dyed it key lime green.” Now if there wasn’t any connection to Gatsby in this song; I wouldn’t think much of the green reference, but it is just ironic that she mentions the green color in this song. Similar to the recurring green light in the novel. I thought these were interesting so I just wanted to point out the fun little hidden eggs in there that might otherwise go unnoticed. Thank you for reading!

Pictured on the left is the “Holiday House” and on the right is The Buchanans.

https://genius.com/Taylor-swift-the-last-great-american-dynasty-lyrics