I spent a lot of time in the early 2000s on discussion forums and songmeanings.net learning about and contributing to interpretations and meanings of songs.
This is an interesting concept (AI lyric interpretation) and my comment is something a bit deeper than this concept itself.
Perhaps I'm showing my age, but what makes lyric interpretation so cool is that it's the intersection of two people's life experiences - the song writer and the listener.
There's often no single meaning of a song. It may mean one thing for the writer and something completely different for the listener.
What happens in online communities where people talk about what song lyrics mean to them is the creation of actual community. That's both interesting and impactful.
I like that. Something similar that I am thinking is that I don't really listen to genres. I listen to artists. I listen to a song and the start to explore the artist's world.
Art interpretation is subjective, but the claim that art interpretation is subjective (which is the one to which you are responding) is not, itself, I think usually regarded as subjective.
We often hold AI to the bar of a highest submission in a field (critique this song to the level of a music/English verse critic) but if you think about the average quality it's performing much better in that context.
(Just get it to output "this song is really about drugs" and you're now up to the bar of "average Song Meanings" submission!)
The hyper literal interpretations feel very Songmeanings too. Even when it's broadly on target, you have to love sentences like "The chorus makes it clear that if someone wants to be the Spice Girls' lovers, they have to get with their friends and make the relationship last forever." much like this https://www.songtell.com/craig-david/7-days reminds me of the greatest paragraph ever deleted from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=7_Days_(Craig_Dav...
Still, I thought the seriousness of the description of https://www.songtell.com/boney-m/rasputin was a hilarious fail until I realised there were actual Wikipedia editors that think a song with lyrics like "Most people look at him with terror and with fear / But to Moscow chicks, he was such a lovely dear" should mostly be summarised with historical analysis
I agree, just think about how many people play Leonard Cohen songs (esp. Hallelujah) in religious/spiritual contexts and completely miss the heavy eroticism.
I checked out "Show me the place" which is incredibly erotic. Leonard asks to be shown "where the suffering began" (painful childbirth is the first punishment God mentions for Eve) and "where the word became a man" (i.e. where Jesus was conceived-Mary's womb) because "his head is bending low." The AI, just like a lot of people, can't get past that use of religious terminology to realize the sexual innuendo.
Perhaps the difference is that I'm much less interested, perhaps not at all, in learning about a song's meaning as much as I am interested in connecting with others and learning more about myself through their experiences.
There's definitely a place for ingesting information purely for the sake of learning. That's rarely been my relationship with music though.
Interesting stuff. I did some searches on some songs I like and the general gist was right.
I tried it on American Pie and it seemed to match my understanding of the song, but this line stood out a bit:
> Additionally, the line “Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey ‘n’ rye/ Singin’ ‘This’ll be the day that I die’” is a direct reference to Buddy Holly’s song “American Pie” which features the same line.
I wasn't aware Buddy Holly wrote a song literally called "American Pie" as well. Did some searching and I suspect it likely meant to refer to the Buddy Holly song "That'll Be the Day", which absolutely does not feature the line "Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey 'n' rye".
"American Pie" is an interesting test, in that so many people have read so many explicit references into it over time (many misinformed) that it would be almost impossible for a human relying only on the internet to guess which parts of the lore were accurate. A language model could be expected to regurgitate just as much nonsense as it had read on the subject.
"Visions of Johanna" is another epic that combines personal memoir, social commentary and political manifesto, and it's even more opaque. The legendary discussions around the meanings of these songs have gone on for 50 years.
that's probably a window into the correspondence between the data corpus and the output. Lots of references to borrowings from Buddy Holly in American Pie, lots of references to individual lyrics being references, not enough consistency in discussions of references for the AI to mimic them rather than putting together fragments randomly in a way which makes sense as syntax but not as a description of the song...
"Kill Dash Nine" by Monzy is a rap song in which the artist compares himself to a computer programmer. The lyrics tell a story of a battle of words between the artist and a "fool" who is challenging him and boasting about his own skills. In computer lingo, kill dash nine is a shorthand way of saying "Kill Process 9" - a command that is used by a system administrator to end a task or process that is causing a problem on the system. In the song, Monzy is using this analogy to warn his audience that if they challenge him, they will be shut down. He is using his intelligence and technical knowledge as a way to prove his superiority, constantly reminding the other challenger that he is the one in control, and that if they step out of line, he will not hesitate to "kill dash nine" them.
This stuff sits alongside horoscopes, tarot reading and those "Like,
what kind of a girl are you like?" pop personality quizzes in
Seventeen magazine.
Most of it is bland grist and filler that elaborates and associates
adjacent words to create a "cold reading". There is the occasional
"spot-on" moment, barely above chance, that seems significant mainly
because you never though of it before. And an equal crop of the
apocryphal and dangerously wrong. That's worrying because unless
examined and corrected this stuff will spread like weeds.
When it comes to song lyrics there's plenty pure nonsense, and words
the writer by their own admission claim not to have any significance.
I wonder how the algorithm would fare with the "Ning Nang Nong" by
Spike Milligan, or something subtle but exquisitely ambiguous like
Bowie's "Bewlay Brothers"?
You're right, the whole thing as it is right now is something light hearted. I spent no more than 2-3 hours of development on this before launching and didn't expect it going so viral at all. In order to make it more reliable than it is right now I think of implementing upvote/downvote buttons and a comment system.
I'm open to ideas if you think of any other ways to improve it!
I think it's really fun. And I get from your website that you're a
"what-if, can-do" kind of hacker who loves to play. Goodonya. It's
very addictive - I think I clicked through 20 or more!
What was going on my mind, I think, was a sense of amusement at how
wrong it all is - but also how "uncanny valley" right. This is
important stuff, what you've done, because it showcases applications
of emerging tech - and how they don't quite hit home.
Part of me would like it to work. Part of me is horrified that it
might. And another part knows deep down it never really can.
But yeah, the feedback you gather on why it isn't working may be the
most important outcome here - for everyone. Enjoy the moment.
But there's no information in the song lyrics to indicate that it's anything to do with LGBT. I have heard it on the radio for years and had no idea until I saw the music video. So I'm not sure I'd say that it's "missed" - I'd probably ascribe a similar meaning going off of just the lyrics.
On the other hand...this one was totally a swing and a miss.
> "Ding Dong Song" by Günther is a dance-pop love song about searching for love in the night. The chorus and verses repeat the phrase "you touch my tralala," which is a playful and affectionate way of expressing affection for someone. The song's title, "Ding Dong Song," refers to the phrase that is repeated in the chorus: "Mmm, my ding ding dong". This could be interpreted as a representation of the feeling of joy and excitement that comes with finding and expressing love for someone. The song is about the longing for a connection with a special person and the joy that comes from having that connection.
Indeed. If all the information were already in the song lyrics, there would be little use for the tool. Now I have to go ask it about American Pie, lol.
My question is: have you trained this using existing discussions about song meanings, or is it just using an existing model of general language to infer meaning?
It's the plain GPT-3, I just crafted a good prompt. In the future I might fine-tune it providing examples based on the most upvoted meanings (still have to implement the feature)
Right, interesting. The song I thought first to ask about is all along the watchtower because there’s so much disagreement on its meaning and it’s one that everyone classically reads too much into, apparently it’s sort of a nonsense reference to Bob Dylan being annoyed with his record company at the time.
The AI came up with the idea that the joker is a skeptic and the thief is a believer, which I can’t find reference to anywhere else and which I found quite strange.
Also interesting that it ascribes quite different meanings whether it is the Hendrix version or the Dylan version which suggests it must be drawing its meaning from something other than the lyrics, like it must be drawing the meaning from things that other people have said about the songs online, but it’s not just directly quoting them.
Sub question: was the prompt you used “how would captain holt from Brooklyn 99 describe the song X”?
To quote the AI:
Meaning of the song "Push It" by Salt-N-Pepa
"Push It" by Salt-N-Pepa is an upbeat, danceable song about embracing one's own sexuality and being willing to see it as a positive. The lyrics tell listeners to “push it good” and “show the guys that we know how to become number one in a hot party show.” This is a call to women to take control of their sexual power, to own it and show it off with confidence. The song celebrates the freedom to do whatever one wants with their body, regardless of societal expectations and rules. The chorus includes themes of empowerment and self-acceptance, telling listeners to “push it good,” “push it real good,” and “get up on this.” The song has become popularly associated with female empowerment, and has served as an anthem of sorts for many women.
Can you please explain for the benefit of someone who has very little understanding of the concept of AI and what it actually means (but pretty decent conceptual understanding of algorithms and programming otherwise) the basic method that's used to derive or form these interpretations? And, what's GPT-3?
is superficially accurate, yet misses the clear fact that the narrator is a stalker/controlling sociopath. So it will be if/when AIs that lack the ability to intuitively nuance are thrown at news feeds and other data sources to aggregate and interpret them, and people come to rely on those interpretations
Edit: rather a doom-laden assesment, sorry, I do still think this is amazing work
Like with my example of The Beautiful South above, it feels like the prompt could use a reminder that songs are a work of art and may have a hidden meaning or another interpretation. It _almost_ gets there with that creepy DCFC song...
Here is something fun to do with this: copy the description of a song from songtell (like Bohemian Rhapsody) and ask ChatGPT to write a song that matches that description.
The song “All Along the Watchtower” by The Jimi Hendrix Experience is a philosophical reflection on life and how one should approach it. It begins with two contrasting characters (a joker and a thief) pondering how to make sense of their lives. Despondently, they realize that no one can agree on a path forward. They then come to the realization that rather than waiting for someone else to help them, they must take their own path and accept their own fate. The song concludes with two riders approaching and the wind blowing in representation of the chaos and unknown that awaits each of us on our personal journeys. The song is meant to remind listeners to move forward undeterred and stay true to themselves.
—
The song "All Along the Watchtower" by Bob Dylan is a commentary on life, questioning the confusion and lack of meaning. The lyrics of the song evoke a feeling of hopelessness and lack of direction. The "joker" representing a skeptic and the "thief" a believer, both trying to make sense of life. The joker is trying to understand why things are the way they are and the thief provides a glimmer of hope with the understanding that life doesn't need to be lived without meaning or purpose. The song continues with imagery of the watchtower, suggesting that we should be attentive to our surroundings, looking out for the signs that might lead us in the right direction. The "two riders" could be a reference to the joker and the thief, both searching for meaning in their lives. Ultimately, the song encourages taking responsibility for our lives and making the most of our time.
> The song "One Step Closer (Live in Texas)" by Linkin Park is about a person's feeling of needing to escape from their current situation and the pain that comes with it. The singer expresses their frustration with the endless cycle of hearing and saying the same words without resolution, and with every new words adding to the pain. As they feel like they are reaching a breaking point, they feel they need a little room to breathe and some space away from the situation. Ultimately, they are one step closer to the edge and they realize that any new words spoken to them will just take them one step closer to the edge and even closer to breaking.
You can tell AI is still in its infancy as most of these interpretations are like a kid trying really hard to find some meaning but at the same time almost always missing some context (or subtext).
Most of them are just funny, and the whole thing is fascinating, but I cannot see much more use or value other than that at this point.
I tried Yaosobi's Racing into the Night (which is about a woman tempting a man into suicide [1]) and the AI understanding is completely the opposite lol:
The song "Big Car" by Severed Heads is about struggling with questions
of identity and where one fits in the larger world. [...] The narrator
seeks solace and reassurance and the presence of a "Big Car," which
appears to represent a symbol of success, support or protection.
Pretty sure the song literally is about being a car, waiting around for its owner.
The other songs I tried were pretty good. If one looks carefully, it is noticable that the interpretations are related more to typical themes related to the words, rather than the specific meanings of the songs.
Inspired by Joel Haver[1], I want to create an album. But I don’t music. So I want to chatGPT lyrics (done) and feed them into a song via lyrics generator (doesn’t exist) and slap album art on the cover made by an image AI (done).
Maybe then this one can tell me what it all means.
When a computer can understand human interaction better than a lot of humans:
"The song "Baby It's Cold Outside" is a lighthearted duet between a man and a woman struggling to maintain their composure as their date comes to an end. In the song, the woman is hesitant to leave, while the man is encouraging her to stay. Despite their internal warnings, they both seems to be enjoying the banter and the thought of one more drink and some more time in each other's company is too much to pass up. The song is about two people feeling an attraction for each other and not wanting to let go of the moment, despite outside pressures. It serves as a reminder that it is important to experience and appreciate the beauty of a moment before it has passed, and that it is okay to make an exception and break the rules every now and then."
Can anyone explain for the benefit of someone who has very little understanding of the concept of AI and what it actually means (but pretty decent conceptual understanding of algorithms and programming otherwise) the basic method that's used to derive or form these interpretations?
82 comments
[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 157 ms ] threadThis is an interesting concept (AI lyric interpretation) and my comment is something a bit deeper than this concept itself.
Perhaps I'm showing my age, but what makes lyric interpretation so cool is that it's the intersection of two people's life experiences - the song writer and the listener.
There's often no single meaning of a song. It may mean one thing for the writer and something completely different for the listener.
What happens in online communities where people talk about what song lyrics mean to them is the creation of actual community. That's both interesting and impactful.
(Just get it to output "this song is really about drugs" and you're now up to the bar of "average Song Meanings" submission!)
Some of the misses are great too...
https://www.songtell.com/pulp/help-the-aged https://www.songtell.com/the-kinks/lola https://www.songtell.com/nirvana/frances-farmer-will-have-he... https://www.songtell.com/the-rolling-stones/brown-sugar
Still, I thought the seriousness of the description of https://www.songtell.com/boney-m/rasputin was a hilarious fail until I realised there were actual Wikipedia editors that think a song with lyrics like "Most people look at him with terror and with fear / But to Moscow chicks, he was such a lovely dear" should mostly be summarised with historical analysis
Similarly this one is funny https://www.songtell.com/village-people/y-m-c-a but not as funny as an actual human being without a trace of irony insisting it's a song with a great conservative message... https://www.conservapedia.com/Talk:Essay:Greatest_Conservati...
I checked out "Show me the place" which is incredibly erotic. Leonard asks to be shown "where the suffering began" (painful childbirth is the first punishment God mentions for Eve) and "where the word became a man" (i.e. where Jesus was conceived-Mary's womb) because "his head is bending low." The AI, just like a lot of people, can't get past that use of religious terminology to realize the sexual innuendo.
https://www.songtell.com/leonard-cohen/show-me-the-place
There's definitely a place for ingesting information purely for the sake of learning. That's rarely been my relationship with music though.
Tasman Keith - My Pelopolees -> Application error: a client-side exception has occurred
Search results for Not Drowning Waving - Tabaran ->
- James Joyce - Ulysses (Chap. 15 - Circe)
- Noam Chomsky - ”What We Say Goes”: The Middle East in the New World Order
- etc.
I tried it on American Pie and it seemed to match my understanding of the song, but this line stood out a bit:
> Additionally, the line “Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey ‘n’ rye/ Singin’ ‘This’ll be the day that I die’” is a direct reference to Buddy Holly’s song “American Pie” which features the same line.
I wasn't aware Buddy Holly wrote a song literally called "American Pie" as well. Did some searching and I suspect it likely meant to refer to the Buddy Holly song "That'll Be the Day", which absolutely does not feature the line "Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey 'n' rye".
"Visions of Johanna" is another epic that combines personal memoir, social commentary and political manifesto, and it's even more opaque. The legendary discussions around the meanings of these songs have gone on for 50 years.
Most of it is bland grist and filler that elaborates and associates adjacent words to create a "cold reading". There is the occasional "spot-on" moment, barely above chance, that seems significant mainly because you never though of it before. And an equal crop of the apocryphal and dangerously wrong. That's worrying because unless examined and corrected this stuff will spread like weeds.
When it comes to song lyrics there's plenty pure nonsense, and words the writer by their own admission claim not to have any significance. I wonder how the algorithm would fare with the "Ning Nang Nong" by Spike Milligan, or something subtle but exquisitely ambiguous like Bowie's "Bewlay Brothers"?
You're right, the whole thing as it is right now is something light hearted. I spent no more than 2-3 hours of development on this before launching and didn't expect it going so viral at all. In order to make it more reliable than it is right now I think of implementing upvote/downvote buttons and a comment system.
I'm open to ideas if you think of any other ways to improve it!
What was going on my mind, I think, was a sense of amusement at how wrong it all is - but also how "uncanny valley" right. This is important stuff, what you've done, because it showcases applications of emerging tech - and how they don't quite hit home.
Part of me would like it to work. Part of me is horrified that it might. And another part knows deep down it never really can.
But yeah, the feedback you gather on why it isn't working may be the most important outcome here - for everyone. Enjoy the moment.
https://www.songtell.com/hozier/take-me-to-church
On the other hand...this one was totally a swing and a miss.
https://www.songtell.com/g-nther/ding-dong-song
Edit: quoted cause server is getting overloaded:
> "Ding Dong Song" by Günther is a dance-pop love song about searching for love in the night. The chorus and verses repeat the phrase "you touch my tralala," which is a playful and affectionate way of expressing affection for someone. The song's title, "Ding Dong Song," refers to the phrase that is repeated in the chorus: "Mmm, my ding ding dong". This could be interpreted as a representation of the feeling of joy and excitement that comes with finding and expressing love for someone. The song is about the longing for a connection with a special person and the joy that comes from having that connection.
https://www.songtell.com/nik-kershaw/the-riddle
https://genius.com/The-beautiful-south-song-for-whoever-lyri...
Also hilarious for missing context - https://www.songtell.com/father-ted/my-lovely-horse
The AI came up with the idea that the joker is a skeptic and the thief is a believer, which I can’t find reference to anywhere else and which I found quite strange.
Also interesting that it ascribes quite different meanings whether it is the Hendrix version or the Dylan version which suggests it must be drawing its meaning from something other than the lyrics, like it must be drawing the meaning from things that other people have said about the songs online, but it’s not just directly quoting them.
It’s exquisitely incorrect.
To quote the AI:
Meaning of the song "Push It" by Salt-N-Pepa
"Push It" by Salt-N-Pepa is an upbeat, danceable song about embracing one's own sexuality and being willing to see it as a positive. The lyrics tell listeners to “push it good” and “show the guys that we know how to become number one in a hot party show.” This is a call to women to take control of their sexual power, to own it and show it off with confidence. The song celebrates the freedom to do whatever one wants with their body, regardless of societal expectations and rules. The chorus includes themes of empowerment and self-acceptance, telling listeners to “push it good,” “push it real good,” and “get up on this.” The song has become popularly associated with female empowerment, and has served as an anthem of sorts for many women.
https://www.songtell.com/death-cab-for-cutie/i-will-possess-...
is superficially accurate, yet misses the clear fact that the narrator is a stalker/controlling sociopath. So it will be if/when AIs that lack the ability to intuitively nuance are thrown at news feeds and other data sources to aggregate and interpret them, and people come to rely on those interpretations
Edit: rather a doom-laden assesment, sorry, I do still think this is amazing work
This is also pretty bad, but perhaps not quite as far from the original meaning https://www.songtell.com/r-e-m/the-one-i-love
(the key line in the song is "a simple prop, to occupy my time"...)
It's also better than a lot of Americans at figuring out that Born In the USA and Fortunate Son aren't patriotic anthems or particularly suited to political rallies, although I guess it has a lot of source material on those songs to parse https://www.songtell.com/bruce-springsteen/born-in-the-u-s-a https://www.songtell.com/creedence-clearwater-revival/fortun...
“My Lovely Horse” is pretty spot on. https://www.songtell.com/father-ted/my-lovely-horse
“You’re Gorgeous” less so https://www.songtell.com/babybird/you-re-gorgeous
Still. What a time to be alive.
—
The song "All Along the Watchtower" by Bob Dylan is a commentary on life, questioning the confusion and lack of meaning. The lyrics of the song evoke a feeling of hopelessness and lack of direction. The "joker" representing a skeptic and the "thief" a believer, both trying to make sense of life. The joker is trying to understand why things are the way they are and the thief provides a glimmer of hope with the understanding that life doesn't need to be lived without meaning or purpose. The song continues with imagery of the watchtower, suggesting that we should be attentive to our surroundings, looking out for the signs that might lead us in the right direction. The "two riders" could be a reference to the joker and the thief, both searching for meaning in their lives. Ultimately, the song encourages taking responsibility for our lives and making the most of our time.
Yo dawg… I heard you’re just one step closer…
Either way? Entertaining at least.
Most of them are just funny, and the whole thing is fascinating, but I cannot see much more use or value other than that at this point.
https://www.songtell.com/genius-english-translations/yoasobi...
Though granted, the metaphor in the lyrics "racing into the night" is probably lost on this AI
[1]: https://www.otaquest.com/yoasobi-2020-breakout-japanese-act/
>500 | Internal Server Error.
The other songs I tried were pretty good. If one looks carefully, it is noticable that the interpretations are related more to typical themes related to the words, rather than the specific meanings of the songs.
Kind of a treat to read through the meanings. They nailed most of my songs — sometimes even articulating the meaning better than I could myself.
A few meanings didn't "feel" right but those were songs with ambiguous lyrics. Likely more the fault of the songwriter than a poor interpretation :p
Example: https://www.songtell.com/steve-benjamins/circles
Would you say it's looking to be entirely lyric-based interpretation?
Maybe then this one can tell me what it all means.
[1] https://youtu.be/W52xJ348tzU
https://www.songtell.com/rick-james/mary-jane
https://www.songtell.com/tom-petty-and-the-heartbreakers/las...
(not everyone thinks the Petty song is about marijuana, to be sure)
"The song "Baby It's Cold Outside" is a lighthearted duet between a man and a woman struggling to maintain their composure as their date comes to an end. In the song, the woman is hesitant to leave, while the man is encouraging her to stay. Despite their internal warnings, they both seems to be enjoying the banter and the thought of one more drink and some more time in each other's company is too much to pass up. The song is about two people feeling an attraction for each other and not wanting to let go of the moment, despite outside pressures. It serves as a reminder that it is important to experience and appreciate the beauty of a moment before it has passed, and that it is okay to make an exception and break the rules every now and then."