Hey A I - Write Me A Song

 A I Country

Artificial Intelligence Finishes a Country Song I Wrote As a Goof One Summer in College

Sometime during the summer of ’67 Rod Irvin and I decided we wanted to write a country song. We wrote one stanza and the chorus before moving on to other adventures.

I’d forgotten all about that long ago composition until I started reading about artificial intelligence – AI – and how it was going to affect all forms of human endeavors, most particularly homework and the creative arts. One story said AI could even write a song.

AI can write a song?

Google had sent me an invitation to try its new artificial intelligence program, Bard, and a friend had provided a link to a different AI platform, Perplexity.

I couldn’t think of anything I wanted artificially intellectualized until I remembered that long ago country murder ballad. Rod and I had never even bothered to title it.

I asked Bard and Perplexity to each finish the song. Two different AI systems, two different outcomes. Bard seemed to strain with the assignment and produced a less than satisfactory result. But Perplexity churned out a more than passable composition.

When I sent the Perplexity song to a friend, he wrote back, “Country music lyricists should be very nervous ...”

 

Here is our song, with a title even:

 

“A Tragedy in the Holston”

Sung to the tune of “Oh, Susanna”

(Our original stanza and chorus are italicized.)

 

We threw her in the Holston in a Weaver's burlap sack,

We watched her as she floated 'way, she's never coming back.

 

Oh the Holston is a wide river, she flows through Tennessee,

I put my love in a burlap sack and the Holston set me free.

 

Now I'm standing on the river bank, watching the water flow,

Thinking 'bout the love I lost, and how I let her go.

But the Holston took my pain away, and washed away my tears,

And though I'll never see her again, I'll always hold her dear.

The burlap sack is all that's left, a memory of our love,

And though it's just an empty bag, it fits me like a glove.

 

Oh the Holston is a wide river, she flows through Tennessee,

I put my love in a burlap sack and the Holston set me free.

 

For in that sack I placed my heart, and let the river take it all,

And though I'm standing here alone, I feel her spirit call.

So let the Holston flow on by, and take my love away,

For though she's gone, she'll always be with me, every night and day.

 

Oh the Holston is a wide river, she flows through Tennessee,

I put my love in a burlap sack and the Holston set me free.

 

And though I'll never hold her close, or feel her gentle touch,

I know that she's still out there, and I love her oh so much.

 

Oh the Holston is a wide river, she flows through Tennessee,

I put my love in a burlap sack and the Holston set me free.

 

© 2023 by Vince Staten, Rod Irvin, Art A. Fishel, N. Tella Gentz.

 

 

Here’s the Google Bard version:

We threw her in the Holston in a Weaver's burlap sack,

We watched her as she floated 'way, she's never coming back.

Oh the Holston is a wide river, she flows through Tennessee,

I put my love in a burlap sack and the Holston set me free.

 

I know what I did was wrong,

But I couldn't take it anymore.

She was always hurting me,

And I just couldn't take it anymore.

 

So I put her in the burlap sack,

And I threw her in the Holston.

I watched her float away,

And I knew that I would never see her again.

 

But I'm not sorry,

Because I'm finally free.

I'm free from her pain,

And I'm free from her control.

 

I'm free to live my life,

The way I want to live it.

I'm free to be happy,

And I'm free to love again.

 

So thank you, Holston,

For setting me free.

 

 

You can go to this website and take Perplexity for a spin:

perplexity.ai

(Copy this address into your browser.)

Type you request in the box labeled New Thread.

I’ve asked it to write stories about friends. The compositions come back riddled with errors. AI jumps to a lot of conclusions that aren’t backed by facts.

 

The address for Bard is bard.google.com.