Billie Holiday and Me Vs. ChatGPT

A Bonus Bit of Writing "I" Didn't Do! - Here's Billie and Me by ChatGPT. or Billie by ChatGPT via Me. Or Me on Billie via ChatGPT. Or, well…you get it…

I love Billie Holiday. I’m sure even someone that’s only read a little bit of my stuff over the last few years will know that. About 18 months ago I sent out this wee newsletter:

These ‘stray thoughts’ were actually things I’d written as poems, and then in some cases actual blog posts. I took the lines and shaped them into a prose-piece. It was about Billie Holiday, but it was loose, it jumped about a bit, paragraphy by paragraph.

So as a wee experiment, I put the whole thing into ChatGPT — something I have barely touch for the last year, I have no huge issue for or against it, I just like to write, so I don’t feel I need the ‘tool’ of it. Certainly I don’t see it ever as a writing tool. But can it be an ‘editing’ tool? That’s what I believe it is. So I took my own words, and fed it into the machine and asked it to summarise in no more than 500 words.

I like this new version a whole lot more. It’s tighter. And better hits the mark. I obviously added in the links but the words below are all from ChatGPT. But they’re mine as well right? Hmm…now how does this work?

Anyway, here’s Billie and Me by ChatGPT. or Billie by ChatGPT via Me. Or Me on Billie via ChatGPT. Or, well…you get it…

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The essence of Billie Holiday's life and artistry is captured in the image of her with a gardenia in her hair. It's a symbol of her longing for a conventional life—marriage, children—that eluded her. Behind her iconic image lies a reality of tumultuous emotions, as she lived intensely, experiencing highs and lows that spanned a hundred days in a single night.

In her performances, she crooned "God bless the child that's got his own," yet she never had her own. Her songs echoed with a poignant mix of pain and detachment, reflecting a life marked by longing and unfulfilled desires. While some may romanticize her pain, she lived a life that was both tragic and complex, grappling with abuse and self-destructive tendencies.

Billie's interviews revealed a woman who embraced life fiercely, relishing in her rise from obscurity to jazz royalty. She reveled in love affairs, both with men and women, and the hedonistic pleasures of drinking and drugs. Despite the self-destructive path she walked, she never shied away from her choices, owning them without apology. Her voice, often compared to instruments like horns or pianos, carried the weight of her experiences, resonating with listeners on a deeply emotional level.

Her rendition of "Strange Fruit" is haunting, leaving an indelible mark on those who hear it, echoing long after the music stops. Billie Holiday's name evokes a repertoire of songs that tug at the heartstrings— from "The Very Thought of You" to "I'll Be Seeing You" and the entirety of the "Lady in Satin" album.

In the end, Billie Holiday's legacy lies not just in her tragic story but in the raw honesty of her music, a reflection of the pain, joy, and longing that defined her tumultuous life. She remains an enduring figure in jazz, her voice forever etched in the memories of those who listen.