The Quiet Desperation of a Stolen Moment: An Introduction to a Classic Duet
A poignant country lament detailing the complicated, bittersweet solace found in a forbidden, extramarital affair.
Ah, the late 1990s. The airwaves were loud with pop anthems and the burgeoning sounds of alternative rock, but for those of us who knew where to listen, a quiet, soulful honesty was still being spun out by the greats. It was in this moment, in 1999, that the irreplaceable bard of the common man, John Prine, released one of his most beloved later-career albums, In Spite of Ourselves. This collection wasn’t about fresh compositions, but a deeply felt selection of classic country duets, songs that spoke to the messy, often humorous, and always deeply human reality of long-term relationships. Among these gems, standing out with a raw, almost agonizing sincerity, is the track “It’s A Cheating Situation,” a duet with the formidable Irish folk singer, Dolores Keane.
Key Information at a Glance: The song, “It’s A Cheating Situation,” was released as part of John Prine‘s 13th studio album, In Spite of Ourselves, on September 28, 1999, via Oh Boy Records. The album was a critical success, showcasing Prine’s unique ability to find the profound in the mundane, and the song itself is a cover of a track originally written by the legendary songwriting team of Curly Putman and Sonny Throckmorton. While the album itself performed well, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and No. 129 on the Billboard 200, “It’s A Cheating Situation” did not chart as a single. Its power was always meant for the album context, one small, yet piercing, piece of a larger mosaic about flawed, enduring love.
The true story of the song isn’t in its chart history, but in its lyrics—a narrative that’s as old as marriage itself. It’s a quiet conversation between two people who are seeking emotional and physical refuge from their separate, loveless marriages. There is no grand romance here, no passionate defense of illicit desire; instead, there is a weary, shared resignation. As the two voices blend, they create a hushed confessional where the affair is stripped of any glamour. “It’s a cheating situation / A stealing invitation / To take what’s not really ours,” they lament. It’s an admission that this stolen time is a “cheap imitation” of what real love should be. The heartbreaking core of the song is the line: “We’ll take love where we find it / Love and try to hide it / It’s all we got / For we know they’re not / Gonna let us go.”
This is the very essence of Prine‘s genius, and what makes the track resonate so deeply with an older audience. We’ve all seen, or maybe lived through, relationships where obligation and inertia have replaced affection. The song doesn’t judge the characters; it simply holds a mirror up to their quiet desperation. Dolores Keane‘s voice, rich with the melancholic timbre of Irish folk, provides the perfect counterpoint to Prine’s gravelly, understated delivery. Their voices aren’t soaring in a romantic duet; they are whispering conspiratorially, sounding like two people hunched in the shadows of a booth, sharing a moment of painful, necessary truth. It’s a bittersweet kind of nostalgia it evokes—the memory of a time when life’s emotional compromises felt simultaneously crushing and utterly unavoidable. It reminds us that love, in its true form, is often far less tidy than the songs on the radio would have you believe. It’s an honest, unvarnished piece of country storytelling, a genuine classic that perfectly captures the weary resignation of two souls adrift.