My name is Joshua D’Souza, I’m 11 years old and I became a school leader at my School this year. As part of my leadership initiatives, I wanted to write a song for the kids at school about resilience and getting back up after being knocked down.
Sometimes children face challenges in life, in studies, in friendships, or even in learning something new, so I wanted to write a song about this. But there was a small problem. I did not know how to write a song or create music and neither did my mum. So I therefore approached my dad.
My dad and I spoke a lot about the message, and we literally typed on google “I want to learn AI music and song writing step by step.” Dad challenged me to write. My dad wrote the first four lines of the song. I used Rhymebrain.com, Gemini, Chatgpt etc but did not like the outcome.
My dad then suggested the use of anaphora as a rhetorical device to strengthen the message and make the song easier to remember. Anaphora is the intentional repeatation of a word or phrase at the beginning of lines, phrases, or sentences. We decided to start the song with the word "Every".
As we started writing the song for the kids, it so turned out that the message of the song is revalent to all of us.
It then took me some time to come up with the tune. We uploaded the tune to an AI software service called Suno. While AI made it easier, we still had to make the tune, lyrics, decide the voice of the singer and add in instruments like the drums.
Speaking of drums, along the way I took an interest in learning music. Right now I’m learning drums and my teacher is helping me become a better musician one lesson at a time!
Before this project, I did not know much about AI music. I thought it was interesting that you could describe an idea to AI and from that you unlock countless opportunities for a song.
But I also learnt that
For “Rise Up” Dad and I wanted the song to feel upbeat, emotional and strong. We wanted kids to remember small setbacks won’t stop them and to know to get back up after being knocked down.
Dad and I experimented with different prompts and versions to turn my humming into music. It was exciting to hear my idea begin to sound like a real song. Some versions of my song had stronger vocals, some had better instruments and some captured the feeling of resilience better than others. We kept improving the lyrics along the way. The making of my song is here.
The final version was created by combining the stems of different versions. Dad layered them together in Suno Studio and other audio tools. This helped us make the song more professional and personal.
I feel proud of my song, or rather “our” song, because without the help from dad I don’t think I would have completed Rise Up. More importantly, I’ve created a song which shares a message that matters the most to me. No matter what challenges kids face, they can keep learning, keep growing and keep rising up.
I hope you all like my song RISE UP!
Lyrics for Rise Up
Rise up x 8
[ Verse 1 ]
Every fall is just a lesson
Every bruise becomes my strength
Every word is my confession
Every feeling is intense
Every whisper saying stop
Every time I hit the top
Every time I drop back down
Every time I shake the ground
[Pre-Chorus ]
Every tear becomes a spark
Every light shines in the dark
[Chorus ]
Every time I hit the floor
Every time I want it more
Every step I take again
Every time I fight within
Every time I lose my way
Every night turns into day
Every time I stand up tall
Every rise beats every fall
( Rise up , Rise up, Rise up, Rise up)
[Verse 2 ]
Every fear I face head-on
Every storm I stand upon
Every limit I ignore
Every wall becomes a door
Every voice that says I can’t
Every push becomes my stance
Every moment feeling small
Every time I choose to stand tall
[Bridge ]
Every scar is proof I tried
Every tear I never hide
Every knock just makes me tougher
Every setback makes me stronger
Every doubt that filled my mind
Every time I fell behind
Every battle worth the fight
Every strength becomes my might
[Claps]
[Outro]
Rise up X 8
