“Let It Be”, which peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on 11 April 1970, had a special connection to Paul McCartney, as it was inspired by a memorable dream he had.
Therein, his mother Mary Patricia McCartney, who had passed away when he was 14 years old, reassures him saying, “It will be all right, just let it be”. The song’s recurring phrase “let it be” emphasises the importance of finding comfort, peace and acceptance during troubling times. It encourages letting go of worries and being faithful that things will work out in the end.
Canva AI was prompted to create song lyrics inspired by the Beatles’ “Let It Be”. The AI is part of the Magic Studio from Canva, a digital design platform. Among the AI’s diverse repertoire of abilities are generating images, stories, poems and song lyrics. Canva AI helps users by making digital marketing easier and more timesaving, as well as creating more appealing and creative products.
Canva AI’s version of “Let It Be” is entitled “When the Light Shines”. It goes thus:
When I find myself in times of trouble,
A gentle voice comes to me,
Speaking words of wisdom,
When the light shines.
And in my darkest moments,
There’s a glow that sets me free,
With a gentle whisper,
When the light shines.
When the light shines, oh, let it guide me,
When the light shines, set my spirit free,
There will be an answer,
When the light shines.
And when the night is lonely,
And shadows dance with glee,
I find hope in the silence,
When the light shines.
“When the Light Shines” uses an overarching metaphor of light to symbolise hope and understanding.
It offers listeners the poignant image of a comforting light, giving the song a spiritual and mystical quality.
The imagery in the fourth section is also very powerful, particularly the use of personification in phrases such as, “When the night is lonely”, and, “Shadows dance with glee”, highlighting the image of a melancholic individual.
The Beatles’ and Canva AI’s song lyrics both have the central message of finding hope and guidance during hardship. The line which is restated in each song emphasises that, even though events in life may sometimes seem to be outside of one’s control, things will turn out all right. To get the idea across, “Let It Be” repeats the compelling mantra, “Let it be”, while on the other hand, “When the Light Shines” uses strong imagery.
However, a main difference is that Canva AI doesn’t draw from any individual experiences, unlike McCartney’s inspiration for writing “Let It Be”, which deprives the song of a meaningful objective. Songs are meant to connect people on a personal level, and “When the Light Shines” lacks that person-to-person spiritual link.
A good song lyric has emotional depth, simplicity and memorable phrasing to provide lasting impressions on the listener. A good song lyric will speak frankly to the most sensitive of topics.
A good song lyric will make you hum to it every random Saturday afternoon. “Let It Be” serves to be a highway for emotions to enter the audience’s heart, while “When the Light Shines,” lacks that vulnerability to close the distance between listeners.
Songwriters, whether McCartney or AI, explore universal truths, storytelling, human emotions, but it takes more than just that for lyrics to go down in the musical hall of fame. Perhaps though, with some tuning, AI can serve as the “assistant lyricist” for a future generational classic.