Can You Tell Which of These 10 Lyrics is A.I. or Human-Generated?

You can’t swing a cat these days without striking someone talking about A.I. If you’ve read the news, had conversations with neighbors, or turned on the internet as of late, it’s likely you’ve heard about things like ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence.

Videos by American Songwriter

Today, there is a great debate about the benefits and possible downsides to A.I., otherwise known as computer-generated information. In the near future, there could be great medical and health benefits. In the short term, however, there could be worries over copyright and authenticity.

In the meantime, we have to explore the new technology if we’re to understand it. So, here, we wanted to conduct a little experiment. We wanted to see if readers could tell the difference between human-written lyrics and A.I.-generated lyrics.

So, to that end, let’s dive in below (answers will be in a “key” at the very bottom).

Lyric 1

[Verse 1]

The sun sets on my hometown, and I have to say goodbye
I’m leaving everything I know, and I know it’s gonna be hard to try
But I can’t let the sadness keep me from looking up ahead
‘Cause my future’s bright, and this is a path that I must tread

[Chorus]

So I’ll find a way, no matter what they say
I won’t stay here in this place that I once called home
I’m gonna take a leap of faith and who knows what I’ll find
When I’m leaving this place for the very last time

Lyric 2

[Verse 1]

My woman loves another man, can’t believe I’m in this mess
Pain in my heart, it just won’t subside, can’t break away from this distress
Guess I’m just a fool in love, why did I ever start
Been aching for her touch, but she don’t care, my broken heart’s torn apart

[Chorus]

My woman loves another man, can’t make her love me again
She don’t care what I have to say, just wanna find another way
I can’t stand to see her go, but she don’t want me no more
My woman loves another man and it’s killing me down to the core

Lyric 3

[Verse 1]

His eyes are cold and restless
His wounds have almost healed
And she’d give half of Texas
Just to change the way he feels
She knows his love’s in Tulsa
And she knows he’s gonna go
Well it ain’t no woman flesh and blood
It’s that damned old rodeo

[Chorus]

Well it’s bulls and blood
It’s dust and mud
It’s the roar of a Sunday crowd
It’s the white in his knuckles
The gold in the buckle
He’ll win the next go ’round
It’s boots and chaps
It’s cowboy hats
It’s spurs and latigo
It’s the ropes and the reins
And the joy and the pain
And they call the thing rodeo

Lyric 4

[Chorus]

We won the lottery with you baby
Ain’t nobody ever felt this way
We got the world in the palm of our hands
And there’s nothing that can keep us away

[Verse]

Just call me lucky, ’cause I found you and our love will never die
Our future looks so bright, it’s like I hit the jackpot in the sky

Lyric 5

[Verse]

Mama! There’s a spider in my room 
I said, Mama! There’s a spider in my room 
He said “Hey girl, why you still in bed?” 
“I’m gonna bite you real good, until you’re dead.” 
I said, “I live here man! Who are you Mr. Spider?” 
He said, “Hush up girl! And hold my hand.”
 

[Chorus]

So I yelled 
Mama! There’s a spider in my room 
I said, Mama! There’s a spider in my room 

Lyric 6

[Verse]

This is the first day of my life
Swear I was born right in the doorway
I went out in the rain, suddenly everything changed
They’re spreading blankets on the beach
Yours is the first face that I saw
I think I was blind before I met you
Now I don’t know where I am, I don’t know where I’ve been
But I know where I want to go

[Chorus]

And so I thought I’d let you know
Yeah, these things take forever, I especially am slow
But I realize that I need you
And I wondered if I could come home

Lyric 7

[Verse]

My woman loves another man, though he’s not the one for her
I can’t ignore the pain within, for I’m the one who’s hurt

Though I can’t stand the sight of him, still I must be strong
But it’s so hard to understand, why my woman went so wrong

[Chorus]

My woman loves another man, and it breaks my heart in two
But I can’t be the one she needs, no matter how I try to
My woman loves another man, and it’s tearing me apart
I wish I could just make her see, we were meant to be from the start

Lyric 8

[Verse]

Take the corner, join the crash
Headlights, headlines
Another junkie lives too fast
Yeah, lives way too fast, fast, fast

Ooh, on I burn
Fuel is pumping engines
Burning hard, loose, and clean
And I burn, churning my direction
Quench my thirst with gasoline
So give me fuel, give me fire, give me that which I desire

Lyric 9

[Verse]

Rage is in my body, coursing through my veins
It’s a fire that I can’t contain
My head is full of anger and my heart is full of fear
My soul is filled with despair

[Chorus]

I don’t wanna fight, but I’m ready to go
I’ve been pushed too far, it’s time to let it show
Rage is in my body, and it’s calling me out
No one can stop me now, I’m ready to shout

Lyric 10

[Verse]

She had grown tired
Of those one-night rodeos
Smokey bars, honky tonks
And life out on the road
She thought she finally found
A place her heart could hide
But when she thinks of him
You see the neon in her eyes

 [Chorus]

The Green of envy,
when he tells her he won’t stay
The blue of her sorrows
as she watched him ride away
the orange and red of anger
when she caught him in his lies
When she thinks of him,
you see the neon in her eyes

Answer Key

Human-generated:
Lyric 3 (Garth Brooks),
Lyric 5 (The Black Tones)
Lyric 6 (Bright Eyes)
Lyric 8 (Metallica)
Lyric 10 (“The Neon In Her Eyes” – Craig Hendricks – American Songwriter May/June Lyric Contest winner)

Artificial Intelligence:
Lyric 1
Lyric 2
Lyric 4
Lyric 7
Lyric 9

Photo by Gettyimages.com

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