Like A Great Gatsby

Album: Aquashow (1973)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Elliott Murphy was born on Long Island, just like the Gatsby character from F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby. The book is about millionaire Jay Gatsby, a furiously driven man who pulled himself out of poverty. It's still frequently taught in high schools and universities across the United States. The shared birthplace was just one reason Murphy felt a connection with the character.

    "I had always felt a connection to Fitzgerald as The Great Gatsby was set on Long Island where I grew up, and my own father, Elliott Sr. and his brother, Arthur, were Gatsby-like figures, poor boys who reinvented themselves," Murphy said in a Songfacts interview. "In fact, my Uncle Arthur lived in Great Neck, which is where the fictional East Egg of Gatsby was located in and where Fitzgerald himself lived for a while."
  • Murphy also drew inspiration for the song from his relationship with a young woman named Geraldine in 1972 in Montreux, Switzerland. Murphy was living in a hotel and had a very formal relationship with the finishing-school student, only allowed to see her for one chaperoned hour of tea a day. She's the "dream lover" he's waiting for in the song.
  • The line "too many pictures gonna make you sad" refers to Murphy's feelings regarding the death of his father, which happened when Murphy was only 16 years old.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"They're Playing My Song

A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.

Richard Marx

Richard MarxSongwriter Interviews

Richard explains how Joe Walsh kickstarted his career, and why he chose Hazard, Nebraska for a hit.

Commercials

CommercialsFact or Fiction

Was "Ring Of Fire" really used to sell hemorrhoid cream?

John Doe of X

John Doe of XSongwriter Interviews

With his X-wife Exene, John fronts the band X and writes their songs.

Yoko Ono

Yoko OnoSongwriter Interviews

At 80 years old, Yoko has 10 #1 Dance hits. She discusses some of her songs and explains what inspired John Lennon's return to music in 1980.

Loreena McKennitt

Loreena McKennittSongwriter Interviews

The Celtic music maker Loreena McKennitt on finding musical inspiration, the "New Age" label, and working on the movie Tinker Bell.