Technology and Music

 

Note: This project ended up as a playlist on Soundcloud.

This is the best way to stream all the songs:

https://soundcloud.com/jay-mathews-3/sets/my-highly-functioning?si=e3f24886aa384464b44917a498974590&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Side note- I was talking to a friend who helped write the music for a silly, fun country song I wrote called 'Hot Tow Truck Woman' - link below:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uN3Ge6xrxfgzabEsyZ8KXh1BwCqMfnmr/view?usp=sharing

Through that- I was introduced to a free AI music app called Suno.

So since I can't sleep much, I have been up at night going through old poems on this blog- creating song lyrics and putting them into the app and picking various genres that capture the mood or theme of the poem. Each song was written by AI in about 10 seconds!

Anyway- I thought I would talk about the songs I did on night 2.

Rain on Me- this was a song I actually wrote on a guitar (which I play VERY badly and sing worse)

My kids have had to endure my version for years- this one is much better:

The flowers hang their droopy heads

Begging for a drink

The withered grass cries in thirst

The lakes begin to shrink

I stand alone in the sun

Yearning for relief

And pray to God to send the rain

To drown away my grief

Chorus:

I want it to- Rain on Me

Rain on Me

I want it to

Rain on Me

There was a time in my life

I gloried in the sun

Ran so hard chased it all

Looking just for fun


But now I see the healing pain

That quiet times can bring

And pray to God to send the rain

And fill my soul again


chorus again

I'm older now seen it all

droughts and floods and tween

and trust God alone for the rain

that comes and goes and leaves

Things of Hell Too Well

I wrote this on Sept 7 this year and posted on the blog. The beginning is clunky but the 2nd verse was a favorite.

(Verse 1)

A man doesn't have to die to go to hell,

But don’t be misled, no, don’t be misled—

Hell on earth ain’t the same as hell in hell.

While he still lives, he might escape,

But when he dies, it’s permanent.

(Pre-Chorus)

We know the things of Hell too well,

And the ways of Heaven too little.

We know them in everyday ways,

Yet amazingly aren’t afraid.

(Chorus)

As we stand mute to the extension of grace,

Resistant to peace, and rebels in His face.

We know the things of Hell too well,

And the ways of Heaven too little.

(Verse 2)

The fevers, the chills, the cancers that ravage,

The agonies, the wounds, and weapons so savage.

Lies and manipulation, destroy reputations,

Revenge and lust, gun down the nations.

(Pre-Chorus)

We know the things of Hell too well,

And the ways of Heaven too little.

We know them in everyday ways,

Yet we still aren’t afraid.

(Chorus)

As we stand mute to the extension of grace,

Resistant to peace, and rebels in His face.

We know the things of Hell too well,

And the ways of Heaven too little.

(Bridge)

A baby’s smile, a child’s soft giggle,

A word that can brighten our day.

A ray of hope in a widow’s lonely cell,

I wish we knew Heaven that well.

(Verse 3)

How strange we are to choose the door,

That’s filled with the things of Hell.

Do we want to stay in a place like this,

Or cry out to the One who said, “It is done”?

(Final Chorus)

We know the things of Hell too well,

And the ways of Heaven too little.

Do we really want to stay forever,

In a place that reeks of Hell?

(Outro)

Only time will tell,

Only time will tell,

If we’ll cry out to the One who said,

“It is done.”

Lake Caroline

I have written on this special place for years

(Verse 1)

Oh, how my heart begins to race

As I cast my line with steady grace

The morning sun, just a golden hue

Peeking through leaves with drops of dew

(Chorus)

Lake Caroline, you shimmer bright

In the dawn’s soft, waking light

Your crystal waters calm and blue

A world where dreams and peace come true

(Verse 2)

The trees, they sway with a gentle breeze

Whispers of hope drift through the leaves

Birds call out, and crickets sing

A wild symphony the lake does bring

(Chorus)

Lake Caroline, you shimmer bright

In the dawn’s soft, waking light

Your crystal waters calm and blue

A world where dreams and peace come true

(Bridge)

With every ripple, every cast

The thrill of nature holds me fast

Beneath the surface, life unseen

A bond with earth that feels serene

(Verse 3)

The water’s edge, my quiet place

I feel the pull, my heartbeat’s pace

In your embrace, I find my way

Where fish and freedom freely play

(Chorus)

Lake Caroline, you shimmer bright

In the sun's warm, golden light

Your crystal waters calm and blue

A world where joy and peace renew

(Outro)

So here’s to you, my favorite shore

Where life is full, and I want no more

With every cast, I feel alive

My love for fishing will always thrive

Come Up For Air

This was another bad guitar song I wrote about 10 years ago. I tried a different version with this using piano and a woman's voice- it is trying to advocate evidence for the existence of God.

Part of me

Wants to believe

And  part of me

Refuses to see

Part of me

Longs to be free

But doubt clings tight

And turns down the key

Chorus

And then I come up for air

I just sit there and stare

And I realize

You're there

The world wants to see

In what they believe

But as for me

I'm free to be

Verse 2

The wind and the trees

The language of love

The heart and the mind

Are born from above

The noise and the fear

Chain this old soul

You whisper so clear

and heal me whole

Chorus (repeated)

And then I come up for air

I just sit there and stare

And I realize

You care

The world wants to see

In what they believe

But as for me

I'm free to be

Bridge

I see You in the stars

And in my DNA

I have a soul within

And sunshine starts the day

I see you in design

In love and law that bind

And in the only Son

Whose truth frees my mind

Well- probably done for a while- but it has been a fun creative experiment. Thanks for the feedback

The two top rated songs have been (from feedback)

Eyes on Thee and Unknown and Unrealized

This is my blog- so if you like it or not, it has been fun to see some of my old poems have new life in music.