Song Meaning

The song "New Money" paints a vivid picture of the dazzling, yet precarious, world of the newly rich. It opens with a question about what the established wealthy do with their excess funds, suggesting a cycle of conspicuous consumption like buying "another pony." This contrasts sharply with the "nouveau riche" who are "reaching for the scepter of the kings," implying a desperate, perhaps unearned, ascent to power and status. The lyrics establish a sense of relentless ambition, with "faster and faster, no slowin 'em down," and a new "ruling party" where "your neighbor wears the crown." The central tension lies in the intoxicating allure and inherent instability of this "new money." It's described as "young, rich and wild," "reveled, reviled," and something you "can't stop." Yet, there's an immediate caveat: "Spend it while you got it, heaven knows if it'll last." This duality creates a feeling of living on borrowed time, where the present is a lavish spectacle, but the future is uncertain. The phrase "In West Egg there's no nest egg" directly highlights this lack of long-term security despite immense wealth. The most striking craft element is the constant juxtaposition of extravagance with underlying unease and mystery. The lyrics present a whirlwind of speculation about Gatsby: "He fixed the World Series," "He killed a man," "He's selling bathtub gin." This fragmented narrative, delivered by various partygoers, underscores the elusive and possibly illicit nature of Gatsby's fortune. The repeated question, "What kind of a person throws large parties he doesn't attend?" perfectly captures the enigmatic persona, hinting that the grand facade might hide something less substantial or even sinister. The final lines, "Don't want that old money, bling money / Comes-with-strings money," reveal a preference for the unburdened, albeit potentially fleeting, nature of new wealth. What makes these lyrics so effective is their ability to capture the frenetic energy and moral ambiguity of the Roaring Twenties, filtered through the lens of modern ambition. The rapid-fire delivery of rumors about Gatsby, coupled with the insistent refrain of "new money," creates a sense of both aspiration and anxiety. The contrast between the "nouveau riche" and the implied "old money" highlights a societal shift, while the underlying question of whether this wealth "will last" taps into a timeless concern about the foundations of fortune and the true cost of success. The lyrics suggest that this new money, while dazzling, is built on a foundation as unstable as "boats against the current."

Samantha Pauly - Pop, In English

New Money

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Duration: 5:16

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[JORDAN] When your money makes you money What's the well-to-do to do? But buy another pony With the interest they accrue? While right across the bay They're making fortunes on the go Over there, the rich are "riche" And the money is nouveau Oh, the nouveau riche are reaching For the scepter of the kings And somewhere high above us You've got Gatsby pullin' strings Faster and faster, no slowin 'em down Lucky boy, you got the hottest ticket in town A whole new ruling party And your neighbor wears the crown [JORDAN, JORDAN & ENSEMBLE] New money Young, rich and wild Reveled, reviled You can't stop that new money Fillin' your pockets Spend it while you got it Heaven knows if it'll last [JORDAN & ENSEMBLE] New money Watch it as it goes New money Watch it as it go, go, goes New, new money Ba-da, ba-ba-ba In West Egg there's no nest egg (Oh, oh, oh, oh) No need to sit and brood (Oh, oh, oh) On piles of cash they spend their stash at (Oh, oh, oh, oh) [JORDAN & ENSEMBLE] A shocking magnitude [JORDAN & ENSEMBLE] The kind of wealth you gotta see to believe (Oh) A level of luxury that's hard to achieve (Oh) No, I don't wanna live here But I never wanna leave Oh-oh-oh [JORDAN & ENSEMBLE] New money Young, rich, and wild Reveled, reviled Don't you want that new money? Fillin' your pockets Spend it while you got it [JORDAN] Heaven knows if it'll last [JORDAN & ENSEMBLE] New money Everything top shelf New, new money Can only top itself New, new, new money Ba-da, ba-ba-ba, ba-ya [JORDAN & ENSEMBLE] New money [WOLFSHEIM, spoken] High roller, comin' through Hahaha [GANGSTERS] Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh [WOLFSHEIM, WOLFSHEIM & ENSEMBLE] New money When it's scanty New money Up the ante Ooh, ooh Butter me, honey Tonight I'm on a roll [GANGSTERS] Tonight I'm on a roll New money [JORDAN, spoken] Wolfsheim! [GANGSTERS] New money [WOLFSHEIM, spoken] Hey, kitten! Wanna blow on my dice? [GANGSTERS] Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh [JORDAN, spoken] Are you kidding? I wanna throw 'em! [WOLFSHEIM & ENSEMBLE] New money [JORDAN] Lucky sevens [WOLFSHEIM & ENSEMBLE] New manna [WOLFSHEIM] From the heavens [JORDAN & WOLFSHEIM] Ooh, ooh Butter me, honey Tonight I'm on a roll [GANGSTERS] New money [WOLFSHEIM, spoken] Haha! Who's the schoolteacher? [GANGSTERS] New manna [JORDAN, spoken] This is Nick Carraway [GANGSTERS] New money [WOLFSHEIM, spoken] I see you lookin' at my cuff buttons [GANGSTERS] New manna [WOLFSHEIM, spoken] Finest specimens of human molars [GANGSTERS] Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh [NICK, spoken] Who was that? [JORDAN, spoken] That's Meyer Wolfsheim. He fixed the World Series. You can meet anyone at these parties [NICK & ENSEMBLE] So where do we find Gatsby? (Oh, oh, oh, oh) Can you point him out to me? (Oh, oh, oh) [JORDAN & ENSEMBLE] I've never even met him (Oh, oh, oh, oh) The man's a [JORDAN & ENSEMBLE] Mystery [JORDAN & ENSEMBLE] Every night it seems his notoriety grows I wonder if he's even at the parties he throws? I think that it's dandy (Oh-oh-oh-oh) that he keeps a brandy handy (Oh-oh-oh-oh-ohh) But his modus operandi? No one really knows [PARTYGOER #1] Well, I heard Gatsby owns the patent for the Model T [PARTYGOER #2] I heard he's a spy [PARTYGOER #3] I heard he won this place in a horse race [PARTYGOER #4] I heard he killed a man [PARTYGOER #5] He's selling bathtub gin [PARTYGOER #6] He's Prussian royalty [PARTYGOER #7] Stock market? [PARTYGOER #8] He's flooded [PARTYGOER #9] Red carpet? [PARTYGOER #10] Star-studded [PARTYGOER #11] Black market? [PARTYGOER #12] Cold-blooded [HIGH ENSEMBLE] Do you wanna dance? [ENSEMBLE] My baby only wants new money [NICK, spoken] Do you believe that about Mr. Gatsby? [JORDAN, spoken] What? [ENSEMBLE] The kind that washes so clean [NICK, spoken] That he killed a man? Wouldn't he be in jail? [ENSEMBLE] My baby has a taste for new money [JORDAN, spoken] Not if he didn't get caught [ENSEMBLE] She likes her legal slender, tender, and mean [NICK, spoken] Well, what kind of— [JORDAN, spoken] Jeez [ENSEMBLE] Du-du, du-du, du-du, du-du [NICK, spoken] What kind of a person throws large parties he doesn't attend? [ENSEMBLE] Du-du, du-du, du-du, du-duah [JORDAN, spoken] A person who likes large parties. I like large parties, they're so intimate. At small parties, there isn't any privacy [ENSEMBLE] Oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh New money [JORDAN & ENSEMBLE] New money Young, rich, and wild Reveled, reviled Don't you want that new money? Fillin' your pockets Spend it while you got it [JORDAN & ENSEMBLE] Heaven knows if it'll last New money Boats against the current New, new money Push against the tide New, new, new money We ride, we ride, we ride, we ride New money Young, rich, and wild Reveled, reviled (Oh) Don't you want that new money? (Yeah, yeah) Fillin' your pockets Spend it while you got it (Woo) Heaven knows if it'll last I want that new money, crisp money (Oh, oh, oh, oh) Straight from the mint money Fresh money, young money (Oh, oh, oh, oh) Push against the tide (Oh, oh, oh, oh) Hey! We ride, we ride (Ride, we ride) [JORDAN, JORDAN & ENSEMBLE] Don't want that old money, bling money Comes-with-strings money Cold money, funny money Push against the tide We ride, we ride, we ride [ENSEMBLE] We ride [JORDAN & ENSEMBLE] Yeah (Oh)

Credits

Writers: Jason Howland
Nathan Tysen

New Money

New Money

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