Introduction
The Gentle Truth of Love: Rediscovering That’s The Way Love Goes – Merle Haggard
There are songs that blaze through the charts and disappear, and then there are songs that quietly settle into your soul and stay there. That’s The Way Love Goes – Merle Haggard is firmly in the latter category—a tender, honest meditation on the nature of love and its unpredictable rhythms. First recorded by Lefty Frizzell and Sanger D. Shafer, the song found its most enduring voice in Merle Haggard’s 1983 rendition, where it won a Grammy and remains a fan favorite to this day.
Haggard’s version is not loud, not showy—it doesn’t need to be. His voice, marked by years of living, loving, and losing, brings an easy warmth to the lyrics. There’s a gentle kind of wisdom here, delivered without sermon or spectacle. When he sings, “Don’t worry, darling, you can’t see me fall apart / Because I’m all alone,” it’s not a cry for help, but a quiet acceptance of how love can shift and change, and how letting go is sometimes a part of holding on.
The beauty of That’s The Way Love Goes lies in its simplicity. The arrangement is clean and relaxed—just a bit of steel guitar, a laid-back rhythm section, and Haggard’s voice floating effortlessly above it all. It’s the kind of song that feels just as at home on a front porch at dusk as it does coming through the radio on a long country drive.
What makes Merle Haggard’s interpretation so lasting is that he doesn’t oversell the sentiment. He lets the song breathe, trusting the listener to find their own meaning in its soft-spoken truths. It’s a reminder that love isn’t always fireworks—it can also be a slow flame, a shared glance, a wordless understanding.
That’s The Way Love Goes – Merle Haggard is not just a love song; it’s a philosophy. It speaks to those who’ve weathered seasons of the heart and come to know that real love isn’t about perfection—it’s about patience, presence, and grace. For older listeners, especially, it feels less like a performance and more like a quiet conversation with a trusted friend—one who’s been there, understands, and knows how to say just enough.
Video
Lyrics
I’ve been throwing horseshoes
Over my left shoulder
I’ve spent most all my life
Searching for that four-leaf clover
Yet you ran with me
Chasing my rainbows
Honey, I love you too
That’s the way love goes
That’s the way love goes, babe
That’s the music God made
For all the world to sing
It’s never old, it grows
Losing makes me sorry
You say, “Honey, now don’t worry
Don’t you know I love you too?”
And that’s the way love goes
That’s the way love goes, babe
That’s the music God made
For all the world to sing
It’s never old, it grows
Losing makes me sorry
And you say, “Honey, don’t worry
Don’t you know I love you too?”
And that’s the way love goes