The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy

Randy Newman, known for his work as composer and songwriter on the Toy Story films, was confirmed to be returning for Toy Story 4.[1] "The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy", the film's main single, written by Newman and performed by Chris Stapleton, was revealed and released on June 5, 2019.[2] The song is performed through the perspective of Sheriff Woody, the film's main character, because, according to Newman, "[Woody] feels like he was a lonesome cowboy until someone comes along and changes his world."[3] Newman was particularly pleased by the fact that Stapleton performs the song, while Stapleton felt that "[i]t'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.

On June 5, 2019, a lyric video of the song was released.[4] On June 26, 2019, a YouTube channel called FANIMATOR released another music video of the song.[5] 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.

Randy Newman performed a version for the soundtrack of Toy Story 4.[3]

Rania Aniftos of Billboard praised the song's melody as "catchy".[2] 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".[6] Similarly, Ming Lee Newcomb of Consequences of Music compared the song to Newman's "You've Got a Friend in Me" from the original film, writing that "the charming Western ballad is similarly feel-good and kid-friendly".[7] Angela Stefano of The Boot wrote that "[n]ot 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".[8]