Silent Echoes

“Silent Echoes”
This project was quite a journey, extending well beyond the emotional investment. I had written a poem shortly after my son Brandon had passed, it was raw and reflected a lot of the anger I was feeling at the time. I happen to be using Copilot, a self-described AI companion, for ideas on another project and saw a suggestion to input a prompt for an AI generated song. I had been looking for ways to rewrite and soften the poem, so I selected the portion of the poem that I had used at the end of Brandon’s memorial slideshow along with a few other directions to see if Copilot could give me some ideas. The lyrics it generated are the ones used in this song. I was fairly impressed with the results.
Copilot also generated a couple of different styles of music and vocals, but I was less than impressed with the results. There had been concerted efforts by influencers to promote an AI song generator called Udio AI. I gave that a shot and was similarly unimpressed with the results using my newly generated lyrics. Since Copilot suggested Suno AI, I tried that next. The first couple of tries yielded nothing promising. In the third song, the first stanza sounded quite odd to me and I was unsure, but as I listened to more of the song I knew I had exactly what I had wanted and prompted.
I learned a lot in the process, including the limitations of editing A.I. songs at this point in time. I would have liked to make a few changes but was unable due to the aforementioned editing limitations. I then spent a week generating AI pictures and producing a video to go with the song including the lyrics, and for an amateur, I think it tells the story I wanted to communicate quite well. I hope you find “Silent Echoes” to be a heartfelt experience. A special thanks to Carol Lloyd for her thoughts and ideas. I don’t think this project would have turned out as nicely without her efforts.
(In making this project, I used Apple photos, Canva, LumaFusion, Copilot and Suno A.I. Suno owns the rights to the music but there is no restriction on sharing other than it cannot be used commercially. The lyrics are mine but can freely be shared if so desired, as long as they are not used commercially.)
Silent Echo
[Verse] Here I sit, waiting and numb,
Longing for a call from my dear son.
The phone remains silent, the hours pass by,
Holding onto hope, though tears fill my eyes.
Empty nights and lonely days,
Memories haunt me in different ways.
I remember his laughter, his warm embrace,
But now he’s gone, leaving an empty space.
[Chorus] Silent echoes of love unspoken,
A father’s heart forever broken.
I dial his number, but he’ll never answer,
Lost in a world where time is a cancer.
[Bridge] The clock ticks on, the seasons change,
Yet my longing remains, unyielding and strange.
I trace the faded photos, worn and frayed,
Hoping for a sign, a connection delayed.
[Verse] The sun rises and sets, casting shadows long,
And I wonder if he hears my silent song.
Does he know my love transcends the years?
That my heart still beats, despite its fears?
[Chorus] Silent echoes of love unspoken,
A father’s heart forever broken.
I dial his number, but he’ll never answer,
Lost in a world where time is a cancer.
[Outro] So here I sit, waiting and numb, For a call that will never come.