We Asked A.I. to Rewrite “Hey Jude” by the Beatles – Take a Look at the Result

The future of AI in the music industry is up in the air. Some songwriters are worried about the possible negative effects, others welcome the advanced technology as a resource, and some simply couldn’t care less. As to who has the right idea, we will just have to wait and see.

In the meantime, we thought it would be fun to put AI to the test. We previously prompted ChatGPT to rewrite The Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil.” This time, we thought we would up the challenge by asking it to rewrite The Beatles’ “Hey Jude.”

Paul McCartney’s lyrics in “Hey Jude” are simple, but they convey a wealth of emotion. In the absence of flowery language and prosaic lines, can ChatGPT create something equally as nuanced? Find out, below.

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Hey [‘Insert Name Here’]…

Turns out, getting AI to rewrite “Hey Jude” was more of a challenge than we expected.

The first time the technology tried generating a re-written version, it took out the name “Jude” and kept the lyrics exactly the same: Hey [name] don’t make it bad.

The second time it tried generating a re-written version of “Hey Jude,” it added the name “Lucy” in the place of “Jude” and then kept the lyrics exactly the same. Hey, if it ain’t broke…

The third time was the charm, it seems, and the technology was able to come up with something original. The AI version of the song was dedicated to someone named Alex (Author’s note: which I’m trying not to freak out about given that my name is also Alex…how did it know?) and kept the original song’s narrative of hope amid a sticky situation.

Hey there, Alex, don’t you fret,
Take a deep breath and don’t forget,
To embrace the journey that lies ahead,
Let’s rewrite the story, rewrite it instead.

Hey there, Alex, let it all out,
Unleash your dreams, remove the doubt,
Embrace the magic within your soul,
It’s time to rewrite and take control.

How inspiring.

The lyrics trek on in the same spirit as McCartney’s original lines. Even his intuitive ad-libs at the end of the song were accounted for in the new version. Instead of Hey Judey, Judey, Judey, Judey, ah the lyrics read Rewrite it, rewrite it, rewrite it, rewrite it. It’s a little meta but, we suppose it works.

The lyrics in AI’s re-written version of “Hey Jude” did evoke the same message as McCartney’s, but at the end of the day, it is Macca’s performance of this simple ballad that made it the iconic piece of art we know it as today.

“Hey Alex” by The Byte-les

Hey there, Alex, don’t you fret,
Take a deep breath and don’t forget,
To embrace the journey that lies ahead,
Let’s rewrite the story, rewrite it instead.

Hey there, Alex, let it all out,
Unleash your dreams, remove the doubt,
Embrace the magic within your soul,
It’s time to rewrite and take control.

And anytime you feel the pain
Hey, Alex, stay strong, don’t refrain
Don’t carry the weight upon your shoulders
Just reach out, let the world draw closer

Hey there, Alex, don’t you fret,
Take a deep breath and don’t forget,
To embrace the journey that lies ahead,
Let’s rewrite the story, rewrite it instead.

Hey there, Alex, let it all out,
Unleash your dreams, remove the doubt,
Embrace the magic within your soul,
It’s time to rewrite and take control.

Na na na, na-na-na-na, hey Alex
Na na na, na-na-na-na, hey Alex, yeah!

Rewrite it, rewrite it, rewrite it

Photo by David Redfern/Redferns