For some work tasks, I’ve been spending a lot of time with ChatGPT. After a while of work stuff, it’s fun to play around and see what AI will come up with for some odd requests.
I was listening to the new
Lightnin’ Strikes this morning (it was wonderful!) and I wondered what sort of song ChatGTP could come up with about a potato in the style of Lightnin’ Hopkins. The prompt was simply:
A blues song about a potato in the style of Lightnin’ Hopkins.
Title: "Potato on the Run"
(A Lightnin’ Hopkins-inspired blues song – Key of E, laid-back and soulful, fingerpicking guitar)
[Intro – Spoken Over E7 Chord]
Mmm-hmm, I tell ya, you can boil it, you can fry it,
But a potato got its own mind—
And sometimes, it just wanna run free.
[Verse 1] (E7)
I’m just a runaway potato, rollin’ down the hill,
(A7)
Yeah, I’m a runaway potato, rollin’ down the hill.
(E7)
I don’t need no butter, don’t need no meal.
[Verse 2] (E7)
Mama said, “Boy, you’ll end up in a stew.”
(A7)
Mama said, “Boy, you’ll end up in a stew.”
(E7)
But I’m rollin’ past the kettle, I got somethin’ to do.
(B7)
Oh, yeah, keep on rollin’, don’t stop for you.
[Chorus] (A7)
I was born in the dirt, but I don’t mind,
(E7)
The earth made me tough, gave me soul and time.
(B7)
I’m the kind of potato you can’t tie down,
*(A7)
(E7)
I’ll be gone by sunrise, rolling outta town.
[Verse 3] (E7)
They peeled my brother, sliced him thin,
(A7)
Yeah, they peeled my brother and threw him in.
(E7)
But I told myself, “That won’t be my end,”
(B7)
No, I’m gonna roll on until I find the wind.
[Bridge – Guitar Solo Over 12-Bar Blues Progression]
(E7 → A7 → E7 → B7 → A7 → E7)
[Verse 4] (E7)
If I find a valley where the air is sweet,
(A7)
I’ll bury my roots and rest my feet.
(E7)
But until that day, I’m on the run,
(B7)
Catch me if you can before I’m done.
[Outro – Spoken Over Guitar] (E7)
Mmm, you thought you had me in your stew tonight,
But this potato’s got legs you’ll never see.
I’m rollin’ free, baby—free.
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Well, we can’t have a single without a cover sleeve, right. I first asked it for a cover without any instructions. Then I asked for a change from the original to make it with a potato walking along railroad tracks. However, the potato had a horror movie vibe, so I asked it make the potato less scary.