“It’s Such a Small World” was Rodney Crowell’s first out of five singles from 1988’s Diamonds & Dirt, to consecutively reach the top spot of Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart. The country ballad was released as a duet by Crowell and his ex-wife Rosanne Cash.
The lead-off single off Crowell’s fifth studio album, the song tells the tale of two old lovers who ran into each other one evening in New York City, as if it was planned. This just goes to show that it’s such a small world after all.
The bittersweet reunion was even made to be more poignant by the trade-off and harmonies between Crowell and Cash.
“It’s Such a Small World” was accompanied by a music video wherein the lovers were actually played by the two singers, themselves. It also features a snippet of clips taken from Crowell and Cash’s actual honeymoon. The short clip had followed the song’s storyline – except for the part when the man left the next morning, he changed his mind and went back to the woman.
The lovely ballad is just one of the many collaborations between Rodney Crowell and Rosanne Cash after getting married on April 7, 1979. Crowell met the daughter of country legend, Johnny Cash, at the Nashville home of Waylon Jennings. Since then, Crowell produced Cash’s records, hitting gold in 1981 with Cash’s crossover classic “Seven-Year Ache.”
However, as the years passed by, their marriage didn’t turn into bliss. Though both sought counseling to curb their drug use and searched for various methods to workout their marriage, things still led to their divorce in 1992. The couple has three daughters together in which they share custody. And even though their marriage has ended, the two talented singers would still collaborate musically on occasion – such as the 2017 Grammy Award nominated song, “It Ain’t Over Yet.”
Anyway, you can listen to “It’s Such a Small World” by Rosanne Cash and Rodney Crowell in the video below.