You're listening to Song Exploder,
where musicians take apart their songs and piece by piece tell the story of how they were made.
I'm Rishikesh Hirway.
Adrienne Lenker is a singer and songwriter.
She's the lead singer of the critically acclaimed and beloved band Big Thief,
and her work as a solo artist is also critically acclaimed and beloved.
Her most recent solo album, Bright Future,
was named one of the best albums of 2024 by The New Yorker,
Stereogum, and more, and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Folk Album.
It was co-produced by Adrienne and longtime collaborator Philip Weinrope,
and I talked to the two of them about the making of one of my favorite songs from it,
Sadness is a Gift.
There is nothing more to say.
Chances shut her shining eyes and turned her face away.
Leaning on the windowsill.
You could write me someday and I think you will.
We could see the sadness as a gift and still feel too heavy to hold.
Could you tell me when Sadness is a Gift first started coming to you?
How the idea for the song first entered your mind?
Well, I had gone through a breakup and my heart was aching a lot.