#folk #bluegrass

Gardenseed is not exactly a made up word, but it is a compound word that my dad used a lot whenever there was something to be emotional about. His face would redden with surprise, his eyes open wide, his mouth would drop open and then he’d say “gardenseed”!

This is what came to me when I was thinking about doing another song for made up words. Since my dad grew up in Arkansas I decided a little country bluegrass would be appropriate. As I’ve said elsewhere, I’m using some AI tools this year and working to be very transparent about my process. I would love to have conversations or discussions with anyone interested in discussing the topic. My process for this song was to write the lyrics myself without any AI assistance. I used suno.com’s voice recording feature and sang the lyrics along with the melody I had composed into the mic, and then typed in the following prompt:

Folky Appalachian Backwoods Song, Guitar, Banjo, Fiddle, Male Vocals, Female Country Harmony Vocals

I’ve found this AI based process very helpful in that it allows me to capture ideas quickly and formulate them into a fully realized version of a song. After that I can decide whether or not I’d like to take the song into the studio, redo the vocals with my own vocals and add my own guitar, banjo, etc., or simply layer on additional tracks of live recordings.

I tend to need to work fast or I lose interest and energy behind a project, especially in the early stages. If I can manage to get something that’s working well then I tend to have the energy and tenacity to stick with it and work through all the details. AI tools have given me ways of moving quickly in the inspiration stage so that I can have something to work with and make decisions about how deeply to go with creating my own recorded tracks versus utilizing some AI generated tracks.

As always, if you have thoughts, questions, concerns, or anything else I’d love to hear them!

Now there's a word that my daddy said Every time I was out of my head He'd look at me with his face in shock He'd say listen here my little Scott

Gardenseed Gardenseed What you want boy What you need Look at your mama And look at me Gardenseed boy Gardenseed

When I swore I'd leave this town Find some lightning and chase it down He just laughed, Leaned on that rake Said "Son, for every tater there’s a big old snake"

Gardenseed Gardenseed What you want boy What you need Look at your mama And look at me Gardenseed boy Gardenseed

Now I'm standing in this same red dirt Tears running down my torn old shirt I hear my own voice in a higher key "Come here, old man, give a listen to me"

Gardenseed Gardenseed What you want Child What you need Look at your mama and papa And look at your own feet

Gardenseed child Gardenseed You gotta grow right where you be That’s the only place For a gardenseed

Guess home’s the place For this gardenseed.