When a Good Man Cries

CMAT, the Dublin-born singer-song born Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, released "When a Good Man Cries" on 28 August 2025. It's the fifth single from her third album, Euro-Country, which dropped on 3 October 2025 via AWAL Recordings. The song was written entirely by CMAT and co-produced with Oli Deakin. It's a slow-burning heartbreaker built around pedal steel, acoustic guitar, and CMAT's keening vocal, blending American country storytelling with European pop drama, a sound she calls Euro-Country.

The lyrics find the narrator owning up to her own flaws in a relationship: "I'm sorry for the women that I made you hate" is the line that stopped critics cold. It's a mature, self-aware take on remorse, rare in breakup songs. The track hit No. 1 on the UK Country Airplay Chart and No. 14 on the Irish Singles Chart, and it was named Best New Track by Pitchfork. Within weeks of release, the hashtag #WhenAGoodManCries had over 15 million views on TikTok, with users sharing stories of male vulnerability.

Several high-profile covers emerged quickly. Hozier performed a stripped-back acoustic version for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge in October 2025. Mitski called it "one of the best songs of the decade" in an Instagram piano cover. The Highwomen recorded a harmony-heavy Spotify Singles version in November 2025. The song also appears in the 2025 film The Grief of Strangers.[edit]