"Somehow, it seems that the sadder a song is, the happier I feel. The release of emotions that many would label as "negative" is actually a liberating process for me"
About this Quote
The line “many would label as ‘negative’” does important work. DeLisle isn’t conceding that these feelings are inherently bad; she’s calling out the labeling impulse itself. “Negative” becomes a social judgment more than an emotional fact. By placing that word at arm’s length, she hints at how often we outsource emotional taxonomy to other people’s comfort levels.
As a working musician and voice actor with a career built on inhabiting characters, DeLisle’s take also reads like an artist’s survival strategy. Performing sadness can be a controlled burn: intense, contained, and purpose-driven. You enter the feeling on your own terms, give it a melody and an arc, and walk away with your nervous system reset.
The subtext is quietly defiant: the real emotional maturity isn’t relentless positivity. It’s making room for grief, longing, and regret without treating them as failures. Sad songs don’t make her sad; they make her honest. That honesty, in a culture addicted to upbeat performance, is its own kind of happiness.
Quote Details
| Topic | Sadness |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
DeLisle, Grey. (2026, January 17). Somehow, it seems that the sadder a song is, the happier I feel. The release of emotions that many would label as "negative" is actually a liberating process for me. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/somehow-it-seems-that-the-sadder-a-song-is-the-53128/
Chicago Style
DeLisle, Grey. "Somehow, it seems that the sadder a song is, the happier I feel. The release of emotions that many would label as "negative" is actually a liberating process for me." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/somehow-it-seems-that-the-sadder-a-song-is-the-53128/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Somehow, it seems that the sadder a song is, the happier I feel. The release of emotions that many would label as "negative" is actually a liberating process for me." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/somehow-it-seems-that-the-sadder-a-song-is-the-53128/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.







