PG Music Home Forums General Discussion User Showcase Paint Me A Picture

Ai vocal, my lyrics, my guitar, Biab real tracks. It’s become quite evident that there are many

folks pretty well dug in on the side of traditional music production. This seems to happen every

time there is a tech advance in this area. Biab on floppy disk, real tracks, Melodyne, auto tune,

have all been victims of this way of thinking. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I fully

respect that but caution that when it comes to the future it’s hard to go back. The vocal here is

not perfect. There are still a few spots that I had trouble with and finally surrendered and

moved on. These comments are not meant to offend anyone here on the best and most

friendly online community. Thanks in advance to all who listen and comment.


https://tommyadamsmusic.com/track/4210087/paint-me-a-picture

https://on.soundcloud.com/q1t9KCNJLNbSS5VHA




RealTracks in style: ~519:Bass, Electric, Pop HalfNotes Ev 120
RealTracks in style: ~522:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Ev 120
RealTracks in style: ~405:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Ev 120
RealTracks in style: ~618:Fiddle, Background Allis Ev 120
RealTracks in song: ~~686:Organ, B3, Background Pop Ev 120
RealTracks in song: 2917:Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm CountryFolk8thsMike Ev 085
RealTracks in song: 2911:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm CountryPopBrent12-key Ev 085
RealTracks in song: 2824:Pedal Steel, Soloist CountryEddy12-key Ev 085
RealDrums in Style: NashvilleEven8^1-a:Sidestick, HiHat , b:Snare, Ride
Royalty Free Loops
Recorded in Logic Pro X
Plug Ins : Nectar 3, Neutron 4, Ozone 10, Tonal Balance, Waves LinMB, Waves, L3-LL Multi Limiter, Logic Pro Metering, Waves Vocal Rider, Scuffam Amps S-Gear

Telecaster, Tom Adams






Paint Me A Picture


I used to have a memory that was like a steel trap

Now it’s a little bit rusty but it’s all I really have

I recall when times were easy and didn’t need so much thought

I’d sit and read then put down the book just to watch you draw


(Chorus)

Honey Can you paint me a picture of how we used to be

Our little frame house in the shade Of a live oak tree

that weathered white fence that kept the world away

From you and me

Honey Can you paint me a picture of how we used to be


(Verse)

Now and then I look back to a long forgotten dream

Maybe our lives were just as hard but that’s not the way it seems

now it’s nothing but a struggle and I always am amazed

Of that gentle comfort of better days


(Chorus)

Honey Can you paint me a picture of how we used to be

Our little frame house in the shade Of a live oak tree

that weathered white fence that kept the world away

From you and me

Honey Can you paint me a picture of how we used to be


(Bridge)

Life moves so fast what’s in the past simply fades away

It makes me sad that what we had is now our better days


(Chorus)

Honey Can you paint me a picture of how we used to be

Our little frame house in the shade Of a live oak tree

that weathered white fence that kept the world away

From you and me

Honey Can you paint me a picture of how we used to be

©2025 Thomas Adams

Tom,

This is such an excellent and touching song. I also think the AI vocal is top notch. Amazing stuff.

Love the tracks selections and outstanding mix.

EXCELLENT!

Bob

Tommy, gorgeous tune! Achingly heartfelt lyrics, and those vocals work great. Nicely arranged and mixed, too. BiaB has some gorgeous steel RTs, nice to hear one featured.

Am sure the AI music debate won't die anytime soon. FWIW, I really like the way you featured the BiaB instruments here. Hope our little software-that-could can stay ahead of the AI band tsunami...

I'm the designated non-expert on country music, so I feel more than entitled to say that this is a really good country song with a stellar production.

The vocals are also pretty good, but in some places, especially with the harmonies, there is some phasing going on.
Since you're a singer, I would try to find a way to instruct your AI NOT to create harmonies and sing them yourself.
It's always easier to add something later than to remove something that's already there.

Anyway, I really enjoyed my listen.
A lot!

Tom, an outstanding country song. I can hear Toby Keith singing this one.
The synth vocal is OK but I think a real singer would sound better - just my opinion and others may not agree with me.
Great lyrics and mix.

Hi Tom!
While I'm no country fan, this IS a well-crafted and likeable song. Besides the good chord progressions and harmony, the lyrics are a great example of how to use a metaphor to get the message across, and you milked that metaphor for all it was worth. Well done.

Re: AI, I don't know if you're a singer, but one of the benefits of technology is that it allows a person with ideas to be able to express them, whereas in years gone by, you'd have to hire a session muso to express that for you. To some extent, the AI vocal is the equivalent of me using the BIAB drummer because I can't play drums myself. This would allow those with ideas that would have previously remained silent to now share their creations with others. It reminds me of a quote from Henry Van Dyke: "The woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best."

While listening, I wondered 'What constitutes country music?' If you removed the steel guitar, and replaced the vocal with a British Liverpudlian accent, you'd have Gerry and the Pacemakers!

Tom,
Ace composition skills & guitar playing. Solid lyrics. Robo boy sings it well, but I am with Mario on real singer comment. Super mix and listens easy. Thank you for sharing.
Misha.

Excellent country song, lyrics and mix! The AI vocals are again so real sounding I doubt anyone would ever guess they were AI.

Excellent song, Tom, really well written and produced. AI vocal is good, fits the song well I think.

Bob, thank so much for your comments.Thanks Ron. I think Biab is safe for now.

Country music the way it's supposed to be.

The AI vocal is fairly good as long as it stays in the lower vocal range. When it reaches into the upper part of it's range is where it becomes obvious it's not real. That's where the artifacts show.

All in all, well done and totally impressive writing.

Hi Tommy,

Very nice song. Swings well even made my foot taps...!
The AI vocals are also very good. One thing you might want to fix in the AI; When the vocals go high (on some occasions) the AI did strange things (a bit).
But all in all I think it's a good, cool song. My wife probably wouldn't notice what I just wrote about the AI. She'd keep swinging...

Hans

Good song. Sounds like it has commercial potential. Great chorus. The singer sounds like a modern singer with all the effect and autotune they put on vocals.

Smmmoooth sounds, Tom. Love the lyrics and it's a great song idea, too. Your idea of perfection is different than mine. The vocal sounds perfect. But then even a crappy vocal couldn't destroy sucha a good write. Radio-ready pro production. Love the picture you paint with this one, Tom.

Thanks for the kind words and also for the solid advice. Getting rid of the harmonies is harder than it should be and I am working on it.Mario, thanks for your honest opinion. I always appreciate your comments.

Hi Tommy.
Ahh! A song with a good melody.
The AI sounds great apart from where it hits some high notes but not so noticeable if we weren't told it was AI.
Great stuff.

Vic

Very well done, and I love the guitars in the background.
Laurent

Tom,

This is pure, excellent country. That lyric is classic country at its best. It reminds me of something Dean Dillon might have written. Your AI vocalist reminded me a bit of Craig Morgan. His big hit was "Almost Home". I could listen to your music all day and all night and never get bored.

As for as the AI stuff, I think each creator should use the tools that best complement their work. The future is going to bring what it does. Whether someone likes it or not, it will offer the tools of the moment. I turned 78 last week, so I won't be around to see much of it. And I'm not so important that my words have an influential voice, so I go with what's available and hope for the best.

This is a classic song by a classy man.

Alan

Really lovely song that drew me and I'm not even a country buff. The ai vocals did bother me a bit but I understand your sentiments.

Andrew, thank you for stopping by. Somehow Ferry Across The Mersey doesn’t work for me as a country tune. But I guess our backgrounds tend to shape what we hear in songs because it’s all so cross pollinated. I enjoyed your quote. Keep creating, TomMisha, thanks for listening and commenting, Tom