A Gentle Circle of Humor, Humanity, and Hard Won Wisdom
Originally released in 1978 on John Prine’s acclaimed album Bruised Orange, “That’s the Way the World Goes Round” was never a chart-driven hit, yet it quickly became one of Prine’s most beloved and enduring songs. Decades later, in 2016, the song found new life in an intimate, unreleased duet at the Ed Sullivan Theater, where Prine shared the stage with Stephen Colbert. Though filmed for The Late Show, the performance never aired, existing instead as a quiet treasure for those who understand how deeply this song speaks to the human condition.
At its core, “That’s the Way the World Goes Round” is John Prine at his most deceptively simple and profoundly insightful. Written during a period when Prine was refining his gift for observational storytelling, the song offers a series of vignettes that capture life’s contradictions with gentle humor and unforced compassion. There is no grand thesis, no sweeping moral statement. Instead, Prine presents moments that feel casually observed yet deeply lived in, allowing listeners to recognize themselves in the ordinary struggles and small absurdities he describes.
Musically, the song is built on an easygoing folk structure that mirrors its philosophy. The melody rolls along with the relaxed confidence of someone who has stopped fighting life’s uneven rhythms and learned to move with them. Prine’s guitar work is understated, giving the lyrics room to breathe, while his vocal delivery carries the warmth and plainspoken honesty that defined his entire career. Nothing is rushed. Nothing is overstated. The song trusts the listener to meet it halfway.
The 2016 duet with Stephen Colbert adds an additional emotional layer to this already rich composition. Colbert, a longtime admirer of Prine, approached the performance not as a comedian or host, but as a grateful participant. His vocals, slightly tentative and reverent, reflect the joy of standing beside a songwriter whose work had clearly meant something to him over the years. Prine, in turn, appears relaxed and generous, guiding the song with the calm assurance of someone who knows its weight and its grace.
What makes this performance especially moving is its setting and circumstance. Recorded quietly, without the pressure of broadcast or applause, it feels less like television and more like a shared moment between friends. Colbert later described it as one of the happiest moments of his show, and that sentiment is palpable. There is no irony here, no performative distance. Just two people honoring a song that understands life not as a straight line, but as a series of turns, setbacks, small victories, and unexpected laughter.
In the broader arc of John Prine’s legacy, “That’s the Way the World Goes Round” stands as a mission statement. It embodies his rare ability to acknowledge hardship without bitterness and humor without cruelty. The song does not promise that things will improve, only that they will keep moving, and that there is comfort in recognizing that shared motion.
This duet, quietly preserved, becomes a testament not only to Prine’s songwriting, but to the way great songs continue to find new meaning through shared experience. It is a reminder that wisdom does not always arrive loudly, and that sometimes the truest comfort comes from hearing someone say, with a shrug and a smile, that this is simply how it goes.