It was a whimsical request a year ago, and I posted it on Facebook at the tim,e but did not write a blog post about it. I asked Anthropic Claude to "Please write a humorous poem about doing genealogy and family history research, including finding birth, death, marriage, church, probate, land, census, military, immigration, city directories, DNA, family papers, photographs, etc. making a family tree, using online resources like Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, MyHeritage.com, Findmypast, American Ancestors, Find A Grave and more." And it did!
(AI Google NotebookLM Infographic - The Genealogist's Lament)
Here is the poem created by Anthropic Claude:
Of course, I requested my AI-assistant Anthropic Claude to create song lyrics based on the prompt above. Here are the song lyrics:The Genealogist's Lament
I started with a simple quest, just curious, you see,
To find out who my great-grandma was—how hard could that be?
But here I sit at 3 AM, my eyes bloodshot and sore,
With seventeen browser tabs open and records by the score.
Ancestry.com calls to me with hints in little leaves,
While FamilySearch has billions more tucked up its family sleeves.
MyHeritage sends emails daily: "New matches found!"
And Findmypast has newspapers where ancestors abound.
I've mastered the art of reading dates that make no earthly sense,
Where January comes after March—those records are so dense.
Birth certificates that lie about the year they came to be,
And marriage records listing brides who died in infancy.
The census taker, bless his heart, was clearly drinking rum—
My great-great-grandfather's aged from sixty-two to twenty-one!
His name is spelled five different ways across the decades' span:
From Wilhelm Koch to Bill Cook—they're the same poor man!
Find A Grave became my friend for tracking down the dead,
Though half the photos are too blurry to tell a foot from head.
And probate records, oh my stars! They're written in a code
Where "whereas" and "heretofore" make my brain explode.
Land records speak of metes and bounds, of rods and chains and more,
While I just want to know if great-great-grandpa owned the store.
Church records hide in dusty vaults or burned up long ago,
The one I need was lost, of course, in 1880's snow.
Military records tell tall tales of battles won and lost,
Immigration papers stamped with dates that make my timeline crossed.
City directories are grand until you realize with dread
Your ancestor was "John Smith"—you'll never find that thread!
My DNA results came back—what chaos they have wrought!
Fourth cousins, twice removed, who share the genes I thought
Were safely mine alone to claim, now message me each day:
"I think we're related! Let's compare!" they cheerfully say.
The family papers that survived are yellow, torn, and strange,
With names of people no one knew and dates outside their range.
Photographs with faces stern stare back without a clue—
Is this my ancestor or just some random person who
Got mixed up in the family box of memories and regret?
American Ancestors holds the key to records I can't get
Anywhere else online, though their paywall makes me weep.The subscription fees pile up while my bank account's not deep.My family tree's become a vine that's twisted, gnarled, and wild,
With branches going everywhere and notes that drive me riled:
"Possibly John Johnson Jr., but could be John Johnson Sr.,
Or maybe it's that other John—research further!"I've learned that every database has different facts to share,
The same person can be born in three states—it's not fair!
One source says she died at twelve, another says ninety-three,
And somehow she gave birth between—it's a mystery to me!
The Mormon pioneers, God bless them, indexed everything in sight,
But German Gothic script appears to have been designed to spite
Poor genealogists like me who squint and guess and pray
That "Johann" doesn't really say "Susan" anyway.
My browser's bookmarks overflow with sites I've yet to check,
My printer's running low on ink, my office is a wreck.
I've joined Facebook groups for every surname that I've found,
Where arguments about birth years make quite an angry sound.
"That's NOT the right Maria Schmidt!" the keyboard warriors cry,
"My great-aunt's cousin's friend once said..." and theories multiply.
The family stories passed along are wonderful but wrong—
That Cherokee princess tale has lasted far too long!
My spouse no longer speaks to me; my friends all run away
When I begin to talk about what records I found today.
"Did you know in 1847..." I start with great delight,
And watch their eyes glaze over as they vanish from my sight.
But still I search through databases and microfilmed old books,
Ignoring all the family's concerned and worried looks.
For somewhere in this tangled mess of records, names, and dates,
My ancestor is waiting—while my sanity abates.
So here's to all you genealogists who've fallen down the hole
Of chasing dead relations—it's consumed your very soul!
We'll search through every record that was ever made by man,
To prove that great-great-grandpa really was from Pakistan!
*Now if you'll excuse me, I must check that hint again—
It might be breakthrough evidence... or just another dead end!*
But wait - what insights might AI lend?
I could just hand to to my descendants to fend!
The Genealogy Blues
(Verse 1)
Started with a simple question 'bout my family name
Just wanted to know great-grandma, thought it was a simple game
Now I'm up at three AM with seventeen tabs open wide
Ancestry and FamilySearch are fighting side by side
My eyes are getting bloodshot from these records I can't read
German Gothic handwriting is all I'll ever need (NOT!)
(Verse 2)
Find A Grave's got headstones but the photos are too dark
MyHeritage keeps sending me cousins from Iowa
Probate records written in some ancient legal code
"Whereas" and "heretofore" make my poor brain explode
Wilhelm Koch became Bill Cook somewhere along the way
Same man, different spelling, drives me nuts all day
(Chorus)
I got the genealogy blues, the family tree disease
Every hint's a dead end and it brings me to my knees
Census records lying, birth dates don't align
DNA matches messaging me all the time
I got the genealogy blues, and they're driving me insane
One more "possibly maybe" and I'll go completely plain
(Verse 3)
City directories got every John Smith in the land
Military records contradict what's written by hand
Immigration papers stamped with dates that can't be right
Church records burned in fires back in 1889's night
Land deeds speak of metes and bounds, of rods and chains galore
While I just want to know if grandpa owned the corner store
( Chorus)
I got the genealogy blues, the family tree disease
Every hint's a dead end and it brings me to my knees
Census records lying, birth dates don't align
DNA matches messaging me all the time
I got the genealogy blues, and they're driving me insane
One more "possibly maybe" and I'll go completely plain
(Bridge)
Every database different, every source tells different lies
Born in three different states with three different alibis
She died at twelve and ninety-three, gave birth in between
Strangest family history that you've ever seen
Mormon pioneers indexed everything they could find
But left us poor researchers pulling out our hair and mind
(Verse 4)
Family photos stare at me with faces I don't know
Yellow papers in a box from a century ago
Stories passed down through the years are wonderful but wrong
That Cherokee princess tale has lasted way too long
My friends all run away when I start to share my finds
"Did you know in 1847..." and they lose their minds
(Chorus)
I got the genealogy blues, the family tree disease
Every hint's a dead end and it brings me to my knees
Census records lying, birth dates don't align
DNA matches messaging me all the time
I got the genealogy blues, and they're driving me insane
One more "possibly maybe" and I'll go completely plain
(Outro)
So here's to all you researchers who've fallen down the hole
Chasing dead relations has consumed your very soul
We'll search through every record that was ever made by man
To prove great-great-grandpa came from Afghanistan
Now if you'll excuse me, got another hint to check
Might be the breakthrough or just another wreck
(Genealogy blues... they got me good...)
(Genealogy blues... in my neighborhood...)
(Genealogy blues... they never end...)
(Just one more record... around the bend...)
Armed with the song lyrics, I marched over to Suno.com (my favorite AI tune creator) and asked it to create the song from the lyrics with a male voice, upbeat tempo, and an uplifting pop melody:
The Canva.com video of this song is on my YouTube channel here.
[NOTE: For some reason, YouTube will not fully upload an MP4 created by Suno so I use Canva to create the YouTube video. In this case, the Suno upload to YouTube was 2:01 minutes, while the Canva video is 6:37 minutes.]
Isn't genealogy fun? I really enjoy watching Claude, Suno and Canva be much more creative than I can be.
==============================================
Links to my blog posts about using Artificial Intelligence are on my Randy's AI and Genealogy page. Links to AI information and articles about Artificial Intelligence in Genealogy by other genealogists are on my AI and Genealogy Compendium page.
Copyright (c) 2026, Randall J. Seaver
The URL for this post is: https://www.geneamusings.com/2026/08/an-ai-poem-genealogists-lament-and-ai.html
Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com. Note that all comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately.
Subscribe to receive a free daily email from Genea-Musings using www.Blogtrottr.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment