Gatsby, Daisy, and Their Tragic Love Songs

The music soundtrack for the recent The Great Gatsby movie sets a quite haunting and "bad romance" mood. Without the movie, the music does not have the same meaning to it. As we learned in class, music may have the same lyrics but the meaning can change depending on how it is used. For example, when I first read the lyrics of "Over The Love" by Florence + Machine I just thought it was a sad love story about a girl who was trying to get her past lover. I could tell they had a tough past but she wanted him back and she was not going to let anything stop her. Then, when you see it in the movie, it all comes together. The song is about Daisy admitting she has always loved Gatsby and was not going to let her marriage of family get in the way. The music adds a certain sad and romantic feel to the movie. This song in particular is an emotional song with lyrics that make the audience feel the love and passion of Gatsby and Daisy's love history. Their love is one that everyone knows is doomed but they cannot seem to let go. I truly believe that the soundtrack was genius. Without the 21st century music the movie would not have the same appeal. If they would have used music from the twenties the film would have been more outdated and less glamorous. I definitely believe the soundtrack fits in well with the overall theme and mood of The Great Gatsby. The songs all are fast paced with very passionate lyrics. The beats are fast but they fit in with the lifestyle of Gatsby. He lives in a world that is wealthy and loud, but all he wants to do is win Daisy. He does not care about the people or things around him, he just does it for one thing. All of the songs describe that perfectly. Though each may be loud, the lyrics all tell the tragic love story of Gatsby and Daisy.