John Prine, but make it rock and roll…
And Miranda Lambert did just that back in 2009 on her breakout third studio album Revolution, when she included a rockin’ rendition of John Prine’s song “That’s the Way That the World Goes ‘Round”.
The track was originally included on John’s 1978 album Bruised Orange. In the liner notes of Great Days: The John Prine Anthology, he explained that the inspiration came to him at a time when he was:
“Kind of fed up with a lot of cynicism that I saw in people, even in myself at the time. I wanted to find a way to get back to a better world, more childlike.
I immediately went back and started writing from a child’s perspective.”
And he spoke highly of Miranda’s cover, as he watched her perform it way back on the 2010 CMA Awards, saying:
“I’ve been watching the CMA’s since I was old enough to walk and I know that record companies always push the artists to debut their next single, but Miranda didn’t care.
I just sat there on my sofa with my mouth open. The guitars were wailing and I thought, ‘I like that girl!’ A number of people have done it as a folk song and they totally screw it up. Miranda nailed it.”
In terms of the production and delivery, Miranda definitely made the song her own, but I tend to agree with John that she’s one of the only people (other than him) that could nail it.
It’s a deep cut that’s gotten lost in the shuffle over the years, but it’s well-worth checking out now.
Miranda and John also teamed up for his 2016 For Better, or Worse album on “Cold, Cold Heart”.
“That’s the Way That the World Goes ‘Round”
She recently sang it during her set at C2C fest, where she also debuted a new song from her upcoming album Palomino, “Actin’ Up”.
And the original:
