"The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy" is a song written and composed by

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern-accented singing style, early Americana-influenced songs (often with mordant or satirical lyrics), and vari ...

, and performed by

Chris Stapleton Christopher Alvin Stapleton (born April 15, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and grew up in Staffordsville, Kentucky. In 2001, Stapleton moved to Nashville, Tennessee, t ...

, for the soundtrack of the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...

feature film ''

Toy Story 4 ''Toy Story 4'' is a 2019 American computer-animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the fourth installment in Pixar's '' Toy Story'' series and the sequel to '' Toy Story 3' ...

''. The song was released as a single on June 5, 2019, and was met with a positive reception from critics.

Background and composition

, known for his work as composer and songwriter on the ''

Toy Story ''Toy Story'' is a 1995 American computer-animated comedy film directed by John Lasseter (in his feature directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's fi ...

'' films, was confirmed to be returning for ''

''. "The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy", the film's main single, written by Newman and performed by

, was revealed and released on June 5, 2019. The song is performed through the perspective of

Sheriff Woody Sheriff Woody Pride is a Character (arts), fictional, Pullstring, pull-string cowboy doll who appears in the Disney–Pixar Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise. In the films, Woody is the main protagonist, alongside Buzz Lightyear. H ...

, the film's main character, because, according to Newman, " oodyfeels like he was a lonesome cowboy until someone comes along and changes his world." Newman was particularly pleased by the fact that Stapleton performs the song, while Stapleton felt that " 's a tremendous honor to get to sing a Randy Newman song in what is without question one of the most iconic animated franchises in history.

Music video

On June 5, 2019, a lyric video of the song was released. On June 26, 2019, a YouTube channel called FANIMATOR released another music video of the song. In this version, FANIMATOR played scenes from the first three ''Toy Story'' films and arranged them to fit the song. The scenes were picked to represent the themes of loneliness and friendship.

Other versions

performed a version for the soundtrack of ''Toy Story 4''.

Reception

Rania Aniftos of ''Billboard'' praised the song's melody as "catchy". Nick Evans of ''CinemaBlend'' positively compared the song to Newman's previous songs from the ''Toy Story'' films, writing: "In keeping with the tradition of ''Toy Story'' songs, Randy Newman’s “The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy” is equal parts tear-jerking and heartwarming". Similarly, Ming Lee Newcomb of ''Consequences of Music'' compared the song to Newman's "

You've Got a Friend in Me "You've Got a Friend in Me" is a song by Randy Newman. Used as the theme song for the 1995 Disney/Pixar animated film ''Toy Story'', it has since become a major musical component for its sequels, ''Toy Story 2'' (1999), ''Toy Story 3'' (2010) ...

" from the original film, writing that "the charming Western ballad is similarly feel-good and kid-friendly". Angela Stefano of ''The Boot'' wrote that " t only is Pixar making childhood dreams come true with the release of a new ''Toy Story'' movie, they're making country music dreams come true, too" praising Newman's lyrics as "heartfelt yet childlike" and Stapleton's singing as "instantly recognizable".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy Songs from Toy Story Chris Stapleton songs 2010s ballads 2019 singles 2019 songs American songs Walt Disney Records singles Songs written by Randy Newman Songs about cowboys and cowgirls Songs about loneliness