Hello Year 11s- sorry the blog still says Year 10.
So, in the spirit of Battle of the Bands copy and paste this song into your browser and listen to it. You probably won't like it but I don't care.
The song is by a band called the Dinine Comedy- I don't know if it's really about Daisy Buchanan, but it seems to fit remarkably well.
What I want you to do is listen closely to the lyrics and to think how different lines could possibly relate to Daisy Buchanan from The Great Gatsby- discuss and analyse them as if they were a line from poetry.
Also think from whose perspective the line could be said. For example, early in the song it goes : "She's a fake! Sure but she's a real fake!" Who would think this about Daisy? Why? Is it one person speaking? Two? Two sides of one personality?
Comment on the song then and discuss- I look forward to the ensuing thread. Post your comments underneath this posting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZv8wZE3azs
can the blog be a different colour now? :D?
ReplyDeletehaha, funny song :)
ReplyDeletelyrics:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lyricsfreak.com/d/divine+comedy/a+woman+of+the+world_20040862.html
- "Maybe I'll suffer, just to be her lover
ReplyDeleteJust to be part of her world
Maybe I need her, because I want to be her baby, can I be your girl?"
A lot of the parts seem like it's from Gatsby's point of view, like how he loves her because she belongs to a different world, with other high classed people and that's maybe part of the reason Gatsby is attracted to her?
- "Maybe I love her, but I'm jealous of her
She's a woman of the world"
Sorry about the typos. And the blog colour. Will change it now.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think it means by "baby, can I be your girl?" Is Gatsby saying that?!
ReplyDelete...no...
ReplyDelete"Your girl" could refer to being in her daughter's place and growing up sheltered and being a "little fool"? I don't know who that could refer to.
ReplyDeleteDaisy could possibly want to have a life where she doesn't have to bother lying to get what she wants (and being ignorant of that kind of life) but I think she likes being able to lie and get away with it.
Come on! Where are the rest of you sorry little lot?!
ReplyDeleteShe's a fake!—sure, but she's a real fake
ReplyDeleteOn the make!—making up for lost time
Just you wait!—hey, give the girl a break
And a fifty dollar bill will see to that
Heh, that ain't enough to feed the cat
Serve up the rats and super rats
Well they just get fatter while she fades away
This part of the song uses a Q and a technique,
as Sponge said, the song seems to be in Gatsby's viewpoint, "she's a fake!" is sung by a chorus which may symbolize both Gatsby's consciousness and a moral general public while the solo "sure but she's a real fake" is the "part" Gatsby wants to believe in, trying to sugarcoat everything bad said about Daisy, ie- shes a REAL fake.
to add on to the last comment, "serve up the rats and super rats" rats may be representative of the boys and past lovers using materialism (fifty dollar bills) to satisfy her, and the super rats - (contempt?) to the rich and more powerful lovers ie- Tom Buchanan
ReplyDeleteat the ending he also compares them to flies
and a prejudice in her favour when the two voices join to say : "well they just get fatter while she fades away" as if they are the ones taking advantage of her and in the end Daisy gains nothing.
"Maybe I love her, but I'm jealous of her
She's a woman of the world
Maybe I hate her, 'cause I didn't create her
It's human nature, girl
Maybe I'll suffer, just to be her lover
Just to be part of her world
Maybe I need her, because I want to be her baby, can I be your girl?
Maybe I'll kill her, just trying to thrill her if she don't kill me first"
He is so desperate on being a part of her world that he not only loves her, he envy's her aswell, because he see's her superior to him "maybe i hate her because i didn't create her"
and when he mentions "can i be your girl" it is almost as if he wishes to be a blood relative so that he must be loved by her and he will automatically be accepted into her world
this also relates to Tom's/Daisy's aristocratic families and the old rich.
Notice in this particular stanza he uses Maybe's as if he is not quite sure what he is really feeling, a mixture of all, and so each maybe it gets more emotional and more dramatic from love to kill, showing how he is increasingly driven crazy about her.
hmmm...
ReplyDeleteinstead i think he compares himself to a fly, a good intentioned philanthropic fly that is shooed away, an annoyance who is helplessly attracted to her
"On the make! making up for lost time"
ReplyDeletethis could be Gatsby thinking that she's only with Tom to fill in the time that he wasn't there and now that he's back she'll make up for their lost time
He talks about her eyes too...what did you make of that?
ReplyDeleteProof i was here. woot woot!
ReplyDelete"Maybe I love her, but I'm jealous of her
...
Maybe I hate her, 'cause I didn't create her
...
Maybe I'll suffer, just to be her lover"
Annette beat me to it: Gatsby in mixed emotions about his feelings towards Daisy? Using "maybe" repeatedly shows his uncertainty. He's constantly questioning his feelings towards her and finding a feeble answer. Maybe he hates her because he actually really hates her and not cus he didn't create her or like he genuine loves her and not cus he's jealous of her. i dont know.
"Maybe I'll kill her, just trying to thrill her if she don't kill me first"
I wouldn't want anyone to kill me just to thrill me. Gatsby (or just Neil Hannon) is going crazy. That's it.
"Those Hypnotic eyes attract"
ReplyDeletedoesn't that relate to The Great Gatsby's original book cover, in which only Daisy's heavily make -up -covered eyes and lips show?
Maybe that relates to the confusion Janice talks about, and the mixed emotions,- "hypnotic" and that he doesn't realise that he is just attracted to a facade, something that is unreal and put on and is taken off?
Finally, the site loads!
ReplyDelete"Soon there wasn't room enough for her" It relates to Daisy being generic, and just like any other woman of the Jazz Age, as there are so many, it's like adding her in will be too much of the same.
"Small-talked her way round just the sort
Of playboys' playground she'd once dreamed about..." Daisy doesn't work her way to achieve what she wants, instead she takes advantage of her wealthy status, charm, sexuality. Also the "playboys' playground" may be referring to marrying a rich man, as playboys are usually wealthy. The fact that Tom is a "playboy" himself also supports this statement as he has an affair with Myrtle.
"Maybe I love her, but I'm jealous of her
She's a woman of the world" Can be related to Gatsby's feelings towards Daisy, as he "loves" her, and his whole life is basically revolved in winning her over (everything he does is towards her-setting up the parties, becoming rich and successful?) Also, he's jealous that she is already married to Tom, and not himself?
"She's a fake sure but she's a real fake" Daisy is masking how she really feels inside. She seems happy, cheerful on the outside, yet she's miserable deep down, e.g. her dysfunctional marriage, her feelings towards her daughter, etc. Yet she always manages to laugh and smile.
"And a fifty dollar bill will see to that" Shows how superficial and meaningless Daisy is as a person. This line is saying she can be comforted with money. It reminds me of when she was caressing Gatsby's gold during the movie.
"Maybe I'll suffer just to be her lover
just to be part of her world" This is true for Gatsby as he dies at the end of the book, because of Daisy, as Daisy was the one who killed Wilson's wife, but Wilson killed Gatsby for it. It is as if Gatsby will do anything to be closer to her. "if she don't kill me first..." This follows, as it is Daisy's fault that Gatsby was shot.
"Oh those hypnotic eyes" Describes Daisy's alluring eyes, physical features, as that is the only thing attractive about her, her outer appearance. Inside, she is an empty personality, with no emotional value.
Sorry if I don't go too much into depth for each line...I was tired.
This song relates greatly to the book, but it's painful to listen to. :/
What a great, thorough interpretation Rosa!
ReplyDeleteWhy is it painful? You mean you don't like the tune or the emotion is just too moving (?!)
It's not the Divine Comedy's best song, it's true. You should all listen to "I like" and "A lady of a certain age" for some better lyrics/ tunes.
How very cross-curricular of me.
I wonder how you know this song, Mr. Pollicutt
ReplyDelete"And a fifty dollar bill will see to that
Heh, that ain't enough to feed the cat
Serve up the rats and super rats"
"fifty dollar bill" is referring to how Gatsby uses money and his materialistic posessions to try to lure Daisy.
The fact that it was never really enough is also referenced: "that ain't enough to feed the cat"; the "cat" being Daisy and the "rats" and "super rats" could possibly be talking about the people who turn up at Gatsby's parties. This emphasises Gatsby's being a victim of the conspicuous consumption and materialism of the Jazz Age and also again his lack of substance and identity, the fact that he has to use his posessions to lure people and get to know them and not actually his personality etc.
"Well they just get fatter while she fades away" talks about how Gatsby's using party's as a way to get to Daisy actually backfired at him and eventually led to his downfall
"Soon there wasn't room enough for her" could also perhaps be talking about Daisy and Gatsby's difference in social status and wealth status back when they first met, how Daisy had always been in a "different crowd" to Gatsby - the typical wealthy girl of the 20s era, and at one point Gatsby's lack of status and wealth simply couldn't provide for her needs and ego(?) etc.
Wow i can't believe you just made us analyse a song :p
this is like that time Mr. Dave made us analyse Rihanna's "Disturbia" because we had nothing better to do in the lesson
English teachers.......
.... are .. cool... :)
oops parties
ReplyDeletehehehehe
i wonder how often you check this blog
ReplyDeleteAll the time Lien, all the time....
ReplyDeleteFinally i managed to find this blog. I have swimming in 10 minutes but i just wanted to make sure it works. I will log back on later and analyse the song properly.
ReplyDeleteOk I have swam (and almost died), eaten and showered so now I am ready to tackle this boring song!
ReplyDeleteBtw I didnt read the previous comments so i wont be tempted to copy so everything is from my own small brain:)
"In between the bosoms of her family"
I think this is referring to Daisy being brought up with wealth and riches and she has never experienced making a living for herself and has always relied on someone else. It also leads to say why she married Tom and not Gatsby because she feels safe when there is money to support her and Gatsby was not rich at the time they first met. "Bosoms" seems to symbolise Daisys comfort and this revolves around her family's wealth.
"She became a woman of the world
Soon there wasn't room enough for her"
This is from Gatsby's point of view and he see's her as "a women of the world" and that she is too important to be classified as a normal women so then it might be suggesting that she is more supeior than the average women in Gatsby's eyes.
"Small-talked her way round just the sort
Of playboys' playground she'd once dreamed about "
For the "small-talked" part i feel it is referring to how Daisy uses her beauty and sexuality to get her way and seems to charm people, especially men, to do her bidding. The "playboys' playground" is referring to rich men because playboys are wealthy men and she is just there for the riches and wealth not for the mans personality and is just there to 'play' hence the "playground" bit. "She once dreamed about" is referring to how she has always had her mind set on targeting rich men and she would refuse to marry someone poor because she is chasing for this 'dream'.
"Maybe I love her, but I'm jealous of her"
This is from Gatsbys point of view and he obviously loves her but i think he is jealous of her because Daisy was born into wealth yet he had to cheat and lie to get it so he is jealous of how easily she gets things she wants yet he spends about 8 years trying to achieve what she got as soon as she was born.
"She's a fake! sure, but she's a real fake"
"She is a fake!" is suggesting how Daisy is always cheerful, joyful and always seems to be laughing but then she masks her true feelings such as her horrible marriage with Tom, her confusing feelings for Gatsby and the affair with Tom and Myrtle. "She's a real fake" might be highlighting that she is extremely good at masking her feelings because Nick believed her.
"Just you wait!hey, give the girl a break"
This is from Gatsby's prospective because the "just you wait" part is that he is trying to prove to himself that Daisy will change and she will love him for his personality not his wealth. "Give the girl a break" is about how Gatsby is reassuring himself that Daisy will change and he has got to give her time.
"And a fifty dollar bill will see to that"
This is how Gatsby knows that Daisy is only bribed my money and materialistic things. The "fifty dollar bill" symbolises the materialistic objects in America.
"Maybe I'll suffer, just to be her lover
Just to be part of her world"
From Gatsbys prospective , and he will suffer the pain of knowing that for 5 years he wasted his life on a girl who is a bitch just so he can have a sexual relationship with her.
"We're making eye-contact
Oh those hypnotic eyes attract"
This is an ironic statement because Gatsby was hoping that Daisy would start liking him instead of his objects but if this is from Gatsby's point of view then he is basically saying he loves her for her "hypnotic eyes". Her eyes represents his love for her is only because she is beautiful and sexual.
Hope its long enough!
Ok I have swam (and almost died), eaten and showered so now I am ready to tackle this boring song!
ReplyDeleteBtw I didn’t read the previous comments so I won’t be tempted to copy so everything is from my own small brain:)
"In between the bosoms of her family"
I think this is referring to Daisy being brought up with wealth and riches and she has never experienced making a living for herself and has always relied on someone else. It also leads to say why she married Tom and not Gatsby because she feels safe when there is money to support her and Gatsby was not rich at the time they first met. "Bosoms" seems to symbolise Daisy’s comfort and this revolves around her family’s wealth.
"She became a woman of the world
Soon there wasn't room enough for her"
This is from Gatsby's point of view and he sees her as "a women of the world" and that she is too important to be classified as a normal women so then it might be suggesting that she is more superior than the average women in Gatsby's eyes.
"Small-talked her way round just the sort
Of playboys' playground she'd once dreamed about”
For the "small-talked" part I feel it is referring to how Daisy uses her beauty and sexuality to get her way and seems to charm people, especially men, to do her bidding. The "playboys' playground" is referring to rich men because playboys are wealthy men and she is just there for the riches and wealth not for the man’s personality and is just there to 'play' hence the "playground" bit. "She once dreamed about" is referring to how she has always had her mind set on targeting rich men and she would refuse to marry someone poor because she is chasing for this 'dream'.
"Maybe I love her, but I'm jealous of her"
This is from Gatsby’s point of view and he obviously loves her but I think he is jealous of her because Daisy was born into wealth yet he had to cheat and lie to get it so he is jealous of how easily she gets things she wants yet he spends about 8 years trying to achieve what she got as soon as she was born.
"She's a fake! sure, but she's a real fake"
"She is a fake!" is suggesting how Daisy is always cheerful, joyful and always seems to be laughing but then she masks her true feelings such as her horrible marriage with Tom, her confusing feelings for Gatsby and the affair with Tom and Myrtle. "She's a real fake" might be highlighting that she is extremely good at masking her feelings because Nick believed her.
"Just you wait!hey, give the girl a break"
This is from Gatsby's prospective because the "just you wait" part is that he is trying to prove to himself that Daisy will change and she will love him for his personality not his wealth. "Give the girl a break" is about how Gatsby is reassuring himself that Daisy will change and he has got to give her time.
"And a fifty dollar bill will see to that"
This is how Gatsby knows that Daisy is only bribed my money and materialistic things. The "fifty dollar bill" symbolises the materialistic objects in America.
"Maybe I'll suffer, just to be her lover
Just to be part of her world"
From Gatsby’s prospective and he will suffer the pain of knowing that for 5 years he wasted his life on a girl who is a bitch just so he can have a sexual relationship with her.
"We're making eye-contact
Oh those hypnotic eyes attract"
This is an ironic statement because Gatsby was hoping that Daisy would start liking him instead of his objects but if this is from Gatsby’s point of view then he is basically saying he loves her for her "hypnotic eyes". Her eyes represents his love for her is only because she is beautiful and sexual.
Hope it’s long enough!
"She became a woman of the world
ReplyDeleteSoon there wasn't room enough for her
In between the bosoms of her family"
I think this is similar to Daisy's life because we know that Daisy is one of the victims as the society in 1920s became more and more materialistic. "she became a woman.." means she grew up to be wealthy and rich but "soon" she feels unendurable of her life and the limited things she couldn't do in her family as the song writes: " in between the bosoms.."
Maybe that's the reasons why she needs to change herself to have a different kind of lifestyle. maybe the Daisy we have been analyzing is not the one that Gatsby used to fall in love with.
"Maybe I love her, but I'm jealous of her
She's a woman of the world
She's a fake!sure, but she's a real fake"
i think the one that saying these line can be Nick, as Nick loves Daisy as the "second cousin once removed" but he jealous of her because she's the one that got all the attentions from Gatsby, Tom Buchanan. may nick asks himself why does Daisy can get all the attentions but the fact is that she's a real fake? and i think it is mostly the lines that Nick may says causes he tends to judges people (as he may say :"she a fake! sure,..")
I just got the link from Uyen >:)
Hi...I manage to find the blog yay!
ReplyDeleteAll i am thinking about is Holly Golightly... "but she's a real fake
a fifty dollar bill will see to that
Heh, that ain't enough to feed the cat
Serve up the rats and super rats
Well they just get fatter while she fades away"
Holly even said those things in the movie....
"Maybe I'll suffer, just to be her lover
Just to be part of her world"
This part however is perfectly Gatsby, how he suffers all those year becoming rich just to get Daisy.
"We're making eye-contact
Oh those hypnotic eyes attract
Such philanthropic flies—that's that.
You cannot stop it, so why the devil do you try?"
This sound like the pathetic attempts of Gatsby try to persuade Daisy off Tom. He almost creates the belief that Daisy is more in love with him than Tom.
hello
ReplyDeletefinally able to blog something on here,
"She's a woman of the world"
this is something that Gatsby would most likely say because in his eyes he sees her as a being with an equal importance as the world. however if this was coming from Tom it could possibly be interpreted as saying that daisy is just another woman in this massive world, saying that she is just an ordinary women.
"she's a fake sure, but shes a real fake."
a real fake seems to be a very oxymoron thing to say, to be real and fake and fake at the same time. which could relate to the book and how nick's narration of the whole book is always very controversial. The line could is a good representation of daisy because daisy may be fake to some people like her husband for instant, their relationship seems to mean nothing to her but yet her loving emotions seems to have more substance when it is used on Gatsby.
"She's a fake sure, but she's a real fake
On the make making up for lost time
Just you wait hey, give the girl a break
And a fifty dollar bill will see to that
Heh, that ain't enough to feed the cat
Serve up the rats and super rats
Well they just get fatter while she fades away"
This whole part of the song revolves around the chorus saying something and than the singer replying to them and everything the singer replies to the chorus seems to be defending her showing how Daisy is always defended by Gatsby and how Gatsby always sees the better side of Daisy where as not many can.
"Maybe I'll suffer, just to be her lover"
This line expresses the way in which Gatsby feels towards Daisy. He has suffered so much and the fact that he dies in the end of the book emphasizes even more how he would even sacrifice his life 'just to be her lover'.
"Maybe I'll kill her, just trying to thrill her if she don't kill me first"
the line is ironic because in Gatsby process trying to 'thrill' her, showing off his clothes and his big house, he does actually get killed and the reason of his death is indirectly linked with Daisy.
i hope that was a good enough comment, and i was jsut wondering mr pollicutt, do you do this with all your songs? trying to see if they have any link with what your teaching in school.
I think the song melody kind of referes to the way Daisy acts from the movie
ReplyDeletechildish way
i think im going to repeat most people are going to say so i dont know if i should do my own analysation..
if i should
DP please comment
and I will do it
because i dont know if i should spend time on this . im also finishing my essay right now.
anyways,
i commented :)
"Analysation" is not a word...
ReplyDeleteI think that's enough now by way of analysis from people.
Still some features people didn't pick up on- for example: in the chorus, what is the effect of the 'call and respond'? A group of people make accusations of the female only to be defended by her lover. I wonder how that could relate to GG. Who would be the 'accusers' of Daisy?
Veronica- no, I don't, but given the nature of this song, I thought it worked rather well and was a change to the usual essay assignments. Next time, I'll just set another 'boring' worksheet, shall I?
Write your essays and sleep tight kiddiekins...
you sound like a grandma...
ReplyDeleteI have big eyes and big teeth.
ReplyDeleteSorry if I disappointed you mr. P I don't have to make my preferences plainly visible to the world simply because Man Utd., as you know, is the best. I mean. who else? Surely not Tottenham - isn't that the club with like 5 supporters in all of England?
ReplyDeleteWell I made my point ... will be back to analyze (!) the song.
p.s. : kiddiekins ? seriously ?
I like kiddiekins.
ReplyDeleteBig, unfocused eyes and large yellow teeth!
ReplyDeleteGG sounds like gossip girl
ReplyDeleteWhat is that?
ReplyDelete