Last night, Kamiyah came to me with an assignment from her history teacher. The task was simple: create a song about one of the historical topics they’d been studying in class. One of those topics was the Irish Potato Famine. It seemed straightforward at first—just a song about history. But, as we started talking, it became clear that this project had the potential to be so much more. Together, we decided to turn it into a creative exploration of storytelling, culture, and music. Little did we know, it would take us on a journey that combined history, Irish folklore, and a quirky battle over a potato.
TL/DR: If you want to get to the video- click on this link. The rest of this story explains how we got there….
As we brainstormed, a thought struck me: The Wild Rover. It’s a lively, traditional Irish folk tune, and I asked Kamiyah if she’d ever heard it. She hadn’t, so we played it together. The structure and tone of the song were perfect for her project, and it inspired us to build a parody where a battle over a potato could take center stage. We decided to use the same sentence structure as The Wild Rover but create a completely new story—one about a leprechaun and Mr. Ross locked in an epic (and absurd) struggle.
With that concept locked in, we turned to ChatGPT to help us craft lyrics that mirrored the structure of The Wild Rover. From there, we dove into Suno, a platform for generating music samples, and started experimenting with melodies to bring the song to life. The collaboration between tools, ideas, and inspiration was seamless, and soon, the song began to take shape.
Kamiyah had a brilliant idea to include an ending with unaccompanied music, creating a dramatic, somber mood. Inspired by her suggestion, we decided to make the ending a dream sequence, where the protagonist tragically dies of starvation. To tie it all together, I asked ChatGPT to generate two additional verses that seamlessly fit into the existing song structure. Once those were finalized, we went back into Suno, layering in these new elements and ensuring the unaccompanied sections hit just the right emotional notes.
But we didn’t stop there. We brainstormed 10 different endings for the song, ultimately choosing and merging four of the most compelling ideas into the final version. It was a collaborative process, much like piecing together a narrative puzzle.
Working on the Visuals
While Kamiyah was at school the next day, I kept experimenting with visuals. I used OpenArts custom modes Hailuo AI to create a series of haunting 10-second clips in an old Irish Gothic cartoon style. This required that I use a combination of OpenArt’s Flux Dev model to create a character sheet of the two main charaters.
Once I had the main characters, I could create custom models that I could place in indivdual poses. This would allow me to have sample references to send over to Hailuo AI for animation and camera work.
While AI can do a lot, theres a lot of other work that requires you to jump into things like Photoshop. For some of the specific scenes I needed, I had to bring up and layer comps using things like Generative Fill, Vanishing Point, and blend modes and sets to get the baseline. That would make it easier to get them over to Hailuo for any motion.
These animations perfectly complemented the tone of the music, adding a visual storytelling element. I compiled the clips in Premiere and chose a Nightmare Before Christmas-style typeface for the title, giving the project a striking aesthetic.
At one point, we found ourselves discussing unaccompanied music as a bridge, inspired by old rock concept albums like Pink Floyd’s The Wall. I even shared how Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Iron Maiden’s 14-minute epic based on Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem, blended poetry and music to tell a powerful story. This discussion helped us see how our Irish lament could elevate its narrative through song structure, much like those classic works.
The Finished Video
In the end, this wasn’t just about writing a song for a history class. It became an opportunity to dive into Irish culture, instruments, and traditions. Along the way, we learned about the bodhrán (a traditional Irish drum), bagpipes, flutes, and the unique structures of Irish folk songs. What started as a simple lesson about the Irish Potato Famine grew into a project that gave cultural context and depth to the assignment, turning it into something much more meaningful.
Class assignments like this are incredible because they allow students to explore history, culture, and art in ways that feel personal and engaging. By combining research, storytelling, and music, Kamiyah didn’t just learn about the Irish Potato Famine—she created something truly unique that showcased the power of creativity and collaboration. It was a lesson for both of us, and I couldn’t be prouder of how it turned out.