So, I did a thing. I wrote a song! As I was waking up about a week ago, the Lord put these song lyrics on my mind. They almost literally spit out of me as I was frantically grabbing my phone to start writing.
The end result of those 5-10 minutes of speed writing was below:
So when I open my heart and think about You There’s nothing standing in my way So when I open my heart and think about you Come on, come on
There’s nothing here keeping me fightin for you Oh yeah, come on come on Wherever I go, I’m spreading your word, You got my heart You’re right here fightin for me Yeah, yeah, yeah
Jesus you never have left me You’ve been seekin me all of my life Waiting in the light patiently singing to my heart Patiently hoping that I’d open this door You’re the very best thing for me You’ve never ever left me Never ever thought of anything without me
You’re my savior My heart strings My foundation The only thing ever ever worth waiting for
You make a way every day Always there any day You’re the the best thing for me The only thing I’ll ever need
So when I open my heart and think about You There’s nothing standing in my way So when I open my heart and think about you Come on, come on Yeah There’s nothing here keeping me here fightin for you Oh yeah, come on come on
Written By Jeremi Ross
The lyrics themselves are okay. They were a bit unpolished, and at the time, I was thinking of a male voice singing these words. Not that I could sing these lyrics if my life depended on it. Haha. (For those of you who know me, you’d know that the Star Spangled Banner is about all that I can confidently lead. And I don’t always hit the high note. Patriotism doesn’t require you to be on key though.)
So, I did the only thing that a normal person would think of in the post-2023 AI era – I dropped it into ChatGPT with this prompt:
That did not produce the results that I was thinking. lol.
I’m not sure I even kept reading, as all I was seeing was straight plagiarism of Life Is A Highway by Rascal Flatts (sorry guys for the misspelling; it was early. lol).
My next prompt was a little more clearer and I managed to spell Rascal Flatts correctly. And butcher Lauren Daigle. (Sorry girl). Again, it was still early. I saw the lyrics, and instantly loved the expansion. Here are those lyrics below:
OPEN MY HEART (You Never Left Me) [Intro — Soft piano, intimate vocal] Oh, Jesus… You’ve been here all along. Mmm… All along. [Verse 1 — Quiet, vulnerable] I’ve spent so long just looking for You Through the shadows of my life Searching for a way to find You When You were standing by my side Through every tear and every question Through every time I turned away You were calling out so gently And Your love remained the same [Pre-Chorus — Strings begin to swell] Jesus, You never have left me You’ve been seeking me all of my life Waiting in the light, patiently singing to my heart Patiently hoping that I’d open this door And I hear You now… I hear You now… [Chorus — Drums enter, soaring but not yet full power] So when I open my heart and think about You There’s nothing standing in my way So when I open my heart and think about You Come on, come on There’s nothing here keeping me from reaching for You Oh yeah, come on, come on ‘Cause You’re right here reaching for me And You never turned away [Verse 2 — Warm acoustic guitar, growing conviction] Wherever I go, I’m spreading Your Word Telling the world what You’ve done for me You’ve got my heart, You’ve got my life You’re right here fightin’ for me Yeah, yeah, yeah… You were there when I was broken You were there when I was lost You carried every weight I couldn’t You paid for freedom on the cross [Pre-Chorus 2 — Stronger vocal, full strings] Jesus, You never have left me You’ve been seeking me all of my life You’re the very best thing for me You’ve never, ever left me Never once forgotten me And I hear You now… Oh, I hear You now! [Chorus — Full band, layered harmonies] So when I open my heart and think about You There’s nothing standing in my way So when I open my heart and think about You Come on, come on There’s nothing here keeping me from reaching for You Oh yeah, come on, come on ‘Cause You’re right here reaching for me And You never turned away Oh, You never turned away! [Bridge — Drop to piano and lead vocal; build gradually] You’re my Savior You hold my heartstrings You’re my foundation You’re my everything The only One worth waiting for The only One who loves me more Than I could ever understand My life is resting in Your hands [Bridge Part 2 — Percussion builds; vocal becomes increasingly passionate] You make a way every day You’re always there, come what may You’re the best thing for me The only One I’ll ever need You make a way every day Even when my faith gives way You’re the best thing for me The only One I’ll ever need! [Breakdown — Instruments fall away; intimate vocal and soft piano] And all this time… You were waiting for me All this time… Your love was reaching out All this time… You were knocking at my door And I don’t wanna keep You waiting Anymore… [Final Chorus — Full orchestral and band crescendo, soaring harmonies] SO WHEN I OPEN MY HEART AND THINK ABOUT YOU THERE’S NOTHING STANDING IN MY WAY! SO WHEN I OPEN MY HEART AND THINK ABOUT YOU COME ON, COME ON! THERE’S NOTHING HERE KEEPING ME FROM REACHING FOR YOU OH YEAH, COME ON, COME ON! ‘CAUSE YOU’RE RIGHT HERE REACHING FOR ME AND YOU NEVER TURNED AWAY! NO, YOU NEVER TURNED AWAY! [Final Refrain — Sustained lead vocal, harmonies rising] You make a way every day You’re always there, come what may You’re the best thing for me The only One I’ll ever need You’re my Savior You’re my foundation My heart is Yours… My heart is Yours… [Outro — Music gradually falls away to piano and voice] Jesus, You never have left me You’ve been seeking me all of my life Waiting in the light Patiently singing to my heart… And now the door is open There’s nothing left between us I hear You calling me… And I’m finally listening. [Final line — Almost whispered, piano resolves] You never left me. I just opened my heart.
ChatGPT-Assisted Enhancement of Jeremi Ross’ Lyrics
So, I dropped it into Suno.ai, and let it do it’s thing. It spit out four different versions, and all of them were pretty good; but one stood out the most.
I didn’t pay for the premium version, and only used what was freely available. The second one I barely reviewed, as the first one absolutely crushed it. I noticed that while the lyrics were the same, there were a couple of additions from Suno.ai – but I had to review the lyrics from what I had updated from ChatGPT and what Suno.ai output, and they were the same.
So while there were just a few small creative freedoms that were added to the original lyrics output from ChatGPT that were improved from my original song, I was pleased with the results. Feel free to listen below!
So the question I’m asking myself – am I a real song writer?
I’m not sure I have the answer to that.
AI certainly didn’t develop the lyrics all by itself – there was some definitive input from my creative development, and I definitely guided the conversation – and one of the “catchiest” parts of the song is nearly unaltered from my original lyrics.
It’s a new world we live in, and now a guy that can’t sing, but can (mostly) write, can make a hit tune like the one above. That’s pretty cool.
