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I just listened again to Roy Wood's 1973 album (recorded 1969-71) Boulders which at the time reached critical acclaim for among other things its creativity, uniqueness and that:

A reviewer for Stereo Review considered (it) likely be the first "one-man show" rock album "that really succeeds"

The lyrics to "Miss Clarke and the Computer"

I see why my, engineer came today
Remove my screws, taken my heart away
Why don't you touch me, press me,
please, Miss Clarke

I fail to solve problems efficiently
Surely I know, you won't dismantle me
Now press my switch, I'll play for you
Please, Miss Clarke

Can't she hear me, how can I ever say
Please explain why, they programmed me this way
I love you dearly, read me, please, Miss Clarke

Systems failing, signal to you again (sung more slowly)
I can't seem to function my inner brain
Screwdrivers so sharp, now I'm scared, Miss Clarke

Miss Clarke, Miss Clarke, don't take my heart awaaaayyyyy... (played back at lower and lower speed à la Kubrick)

I think that there are several artistic references to the iconic scene in Kubrick's 2001 A Space Odyssey where the HAL9001 computer is being shut down, saying "I can feel it, Dave" and then begins to sing Daisy Bell.

But the difference between that and

Screwdrivers so sharp, now I'm scared

is that this is a new song, sung from the point of view of the computer being shut down, where it explains how this feels in the song's lyrics.

note: A warning for sentimental folks like me, the song is sad.

Question: Is "Miss Clarke and the Computer" (1973) the first published song written from an intelligent machine's point of view?

uhoh
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    And take a listen at the wonderful Saviour Machine by David Bowie from his album The Man Who Sold the World from 1971: "please don't believe in me, please disagree with me".. – Joachim May 13 '23 at 09:22
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    Just in case you were feeling too sad by the end, he does follow it, in true 'from the sublime to the ridiculous' manner by "When Grandma Plays the Banjo" ;) – Tetsujin May 13 '23 at 10:15
  • Is it really intelligent? It can also be interpreted as anthropomorphizing the computer. – Barmar May 13 '23 at 13:21
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    It's intelligent within the song's internal logic. Not only intelligent but in love. – Tetsujin May 13 '23 at 13:48
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    By "protagonist" do you mean the the song is about an intelligent machine, or sung from an intelligent machine's point-of-view? – fez May 13 '23 at 15:30
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    @fez ah, an intelligent machine's point-of-view. I've updated the title, how does that look? – uhoh May 14 '23 at 14:09
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    A lot easier to understand now, thank you! – fez May 14 '23 at 14:51
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    Clarification: are you looking only for machines whose intelligence is achieved via technology? Or does the scope include lower-tech machines that possess intelligence through sheer artistic license e.g. Lorne Greene's I'm A Gun? Given people's fondness for anthropomorphising vehicles, toys, and weapons, that might be a fruitful direction for search, though I haven't yet found something that beats 1881. – GB supports the mod strike May 15 '23 at 15:36
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    @GeoffreyBrent the intelligent machine has to actually be intelligent, and for the purposes of my question the intelligence has to have some element of plausibility viewed through the lens of science fiction. So robots and computers should qualify (there's no context in Miss Clarke and the Computer that indicates that it took place strictly within 1970's computer technology) and the anthropomorphizing of a gun (or the idea that it has feelings) should not qualify. But I don't know exactly how to draw a line in the middle that will work for everyone. We'll have to see how it goes... – uhoh May 15 '23 at 18:53
  • @GeoffreyBrent what an interesting song! – uhoh May 15 '23 at 18:54
  • @uhoh Thanks, that saves me trawling through a bunch of stuff that might have fit the letter of the request but not the intention. – GB supports the mod strike May 15 '23 at 23:53
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    @uhoh Indeed. Perhaps I should've gone with I'm A Train instead, but the gun seemed a bit more of a thinker... – GB supports the mod strike May 15 '23 at 23:56

2 Answers2

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Earlier came OZ and its strange inhabitants:

From the musical “The Tik-Tok Man of Oz”, 1913. Words by L. Frank Baum. Music by Louis F. Gottschalk.

Original musical poster.

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC BY-SA)

Link to YouTube of full song.

As to intelligence, he claims to "Show genius". You be the judge.

I’m a man of many parts and complicated Clock work makes me go, Tik Tok
I can run because I’m finely regulated Never fast or slow, Tik Tok
Right on time you’re always sure to find me
If my works run down you musn’t mind me
Take the key and then proceed to wind me
And my genius I will show, Tik Tok

From Sheetmusicsinger.com.

From the book, Tick-Tok of OZ. Portrayed in the Disney film Return to OZ:

Image of man in suite, then still from film

All rights Disney Pictures, fair use.

In-suit performance by Michael Sundin.

user14111
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Jiminy Cricket.
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10

Les contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffman), Jaques Offenbach, 1881.

In Act I, the poet Hoffman has fallen in love with the mechanical doll "Olympia" who sings one of the most famous coloratura arias in the repertoire before self-destructing.

The aria is: "Les oiseaux dans la charmille" (The birds in the bower, often called "The Doll Song"). In it, she sings about how the beauty of nature fills her "heart" with thoughts of love.

Les oiseaux dans la charmille
Dans les cieux l'astre du jour,
Tout parle à la jeune fille d'amour!
Ah! Voilà la chanson gentille
La chanson d'Olympia! Ah!

Tout ce qui chante et résonne
Et soupire, tour à tour,
Emeut son coeur qui frissonne d'amour!
Ah! Voilà la chanson mignonne
La chanson d'Olympia! Ah!

English translation:

The birds in the bower,
The day star in the heavens,
All speaks of love to the young girl!
Ah! This is the pleasant song,
The song of Olympia! Ah!

All that sings and resonates
And sighs, in turn
Moves her heart which quivers with love!
Ah! This is the lovely song,
The song of Olympia! Ah!

Michael Seifert
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Ron
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