The Toy Story franchise wouldn’t be the same without Buzz or Woody, in the same sense that the films wouldn’t be the same without the Academy Award®-winning composer and songwriter Randy Newman. Today, it was announced that the Toy Story 4 soundtrack will include two new original songs composed and conducted by Randy Newman, “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” and “The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy.” “His music defines these movies,” said director Josh Cooley, “I can’t imagine making a fourth one without Randy Newman.”
Newman shared, “I have great affection for the films, and it was good to be back in that world again.” According to Newman, “Toy Story 4”—like its predecessors—has great emotional depth. “Important things are happening to people we love,” he said. “There’s plenty of action, but there’s a lot of deeper stuff. This picture had a lot of opportunity to do things of some depth emotionally—but not overdo it.”
For the song, “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away”, aptly named for Bonnie’s craft-project-turned-toy, Forky, Newman explains, “He gets it in his head that he’s disposable, so he keeps trying to throw himself in the trash can, and Woody has put himself in charge of keeping him from doing so.”
The song, “The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy,” was written from Woody’s perspective as Newman explains, “Woody feels like he was a lonesome cowboy until someone comes along and changes his world.” The end credit version of “The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy” is performed by Grammy®-winning musician Chris Stapleton and is available today as a single (listen below).
Stapleton shared, “To me what has made the ‘Toy Story’ films hold up over time has been the strength of the stories and the songs and the writing and the characters. There’s something for people of all ages to enjoy in the world that is ‘Toy Story.’ It’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.”
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Pixar Post — Julie
