Emma Newton isn’t afraid to cry. When asked about some of their earliest memories with music, it’s a story that usually connects to a song that would fill up your emotional well of tears and sadness.
“I love a good cry. I really do. It’s beautiful to be able to connect to someone else’s experience with your own. It’s a great source of healing to be able to create it especially.”
Newton, who works as a recording and mixing engineer and producer at Big Nice Studio in Lincoln, Rhode Island, is featured on this season of Ocean State Sessions as their dreamy, synth-pop, harp-driven, and sometimes sad-song-singing persona, Space Cowboy Newt.”
“Dream pop contains elements of synthesizers and usually dreamy kind of reverbed-out guitars. But I do replace that with harp.”
While not all of Space Cowboy Newt’s music is sad per se, they say their musical inspirations are deeply tied to artists and songs that tug at the heartstrings. To celebrate those sad songs, Newton has provided their five favorite sad songs to listen to (and probably cry).
Q: Why do you love listening to sad songs so much?
Newton:
“Despite my love for writing and listening to them, I only seek out sad songs in small but potent doses. I don’t often listen to a string of sad songs, or add a particularly heartwrenching tune to my playlists. I’m a very sensitive person, and I’ve learned that I can’t handle the intensity of emotion when surrounding myself constantly with sad music. But on a bad day, or when feeling alone and isolated, a song that feels those emotions with you can make a wonderful companion. And, they can evoke otherwise inaccessible tears on a day when you’d love a good cry but can’t make it happen! But by far, my favorite way of listening to sad music is recording it — every time that I sit behind the board and hear a sad song is a beautiful practice in empathy.”
Q: You’re working on a new album called “Suffering!!!” which sounds pretty sad. Can you tell us about the album and how much of it is comprised of sad songs?
Newton: “‘Suffering!!!’ centers around a juxtaposition of sad subjects set to (for the most part) not-so-sad music. I love when artists sneak devastating meaning into songs that, on the musical surface, seem chill and pleasant. Some of the juxtapositions include:
- A song about abusive relationship trauma set over a soundtrack of neo-soul jazzy vibes, absent of gloom!
- An upbeat surf rock/dream pop tune about gender dysphoria and body hatred!
- Lamenting the pain of insincere friendships over a 90’s rnb-style vocal cloud!
I’m here to get weird and confusing with the concept of sad songs!”
To get a sneak peek of “Suffering!!!”, check out Space Cowboy Newt’s latest single “Whittle me down”.
And now, here’s Newton’s list of very sad songs, in no particular order:
“When She Loved Me” - Sarah McLachlan, 1999
“This was the first song I ever learned to play on the piano and sing at the same time. I was six and a big fan of “Toy Story 2", but I didn’t realize how heart-wrenching the lyrics were until years later. I revisited the song a couple of years ago when I was commissioned to produce a cover version for The Enharmonix, a student vocal group based out of Franklin, MA. I cried my eyes out to both the original and the kids’ performance.”
“You Were Mine” - The Chicks, 1998
“I had a women-fronted-sad-country-music phase in 2014, so naturally I loved the forlorn lyrics and three-part harmonies characteristic of The Chicks! This song has my favorite sad bridge of all time, adding a knife-to-the-heart layer of complexity to this already yearning ballad of lost love. “He’s two and she’s four, and you know they adore you, so how can I tell them you’ve changed your mind?” Makes me cry every time.”
“Fine” - Kacey Musgraves, 2015
“I like a sad song with a little hope in it! This tune is a slice-of-life zoomed-in moment of missing your partner when they’re away. It’s bittersweet and sentimental for me - I used to perform out in California every once in a while, and I would think about my beloved partner a thousand miles away whenever I would play this for the crowd. Sadness and loneliness fuel the musical fire!”
“Papaoutai” - Stromae, 2013
“This French electronic banger proves that you can do so much with a sad song - it’s not limited to slow, somber ballads. The title of this song translates to “Where are you, Dad?” It’s a vulnerable, childlike sentiment that builds into resentment and despair over an absent parent but with the soundtrack of a clubby, synthy, upbeat anthem. I don’t know any other songs that make you want to curl up into a ball but also dance at the same time.”
“Casket” - On Regret, 2023
“On Regret is a group of my dear friends who write nothing but devastating songs, and this is a particular favorite of mine. There’s nothing like actually knowing the writer behind a set of sad lyrics to make you miserable! And, being the one behind the board while artists channel their saddest thoughts into their singing/playing is a special thing to witness.”
