Lyrics: Nathan Tysen
Music: Jason Howland
On my last day in New York, I wander down to the water's edge
I find myself clinging to my father's advice: to reserve judgement
I think about the way New York slabbed me with the wild promise I mistook for meaning
And the whole summer washes over me
The quiet brutality of Daisy and Tom, Jordan and the mess we made
Wolfsheim, the Wilsons; all of us, holding on to the foul dust of our dreams so tightly
We couldn't see straight
And as I turn to look at the shoreline, here is what I will never forget
I still can see Gatsby
Standing in silhouette
He's staring down the darkness
His arms stretch to the sky
With infinite hope that made him fool enough to try
That light across the water
Is always out of reach
So why do we
Why do we
Why do we keep reaching
Gatsby believed in the green light
The orgastic future that year by year recedes before us.
It eluded us then, but that's no matter. Tomorrow we will run faster / Where's the party and can you take me there
Stretch our arms farther. And one fine morning / When the party's over can you find another party somewhere
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaseless into the past / We live for today, we pay off the cops
And today is never over if the party never stops
Where's the party and can you take me there
And when the party's over can you find another party somewhere
We live for today
We pay off the cops
And when you think the party stopsβ
The party's roaring on
The party's roaring on
Oh, we beat on and on and on and on
And on
And on, and on
And on