Language   

Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town

Mel Tillis
Language: English


Mel Tillis

List of versions


Related Songs

Compared To What
(Eugene McDaniels)
The Falcon
(Richard Fariña)


(1967)
Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town

"Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" is a song written by Mel Tillis about a paralyzed veteran of a "crazy Asian war" (given the time of its release, widely assumed—but never explicitly stated—to be the Vietnam War) who either lies helplessly in bed or sits helplessly in his wheelchair as his wife "paints [herself] up" to go out for the evening without him; he believes she is going in search of a lover, and as he hears the door slam behind her, he pleads for her to reconsider. The song was made famous by [Kenny Rogers and The First Edition in 1969. "Ruby" was originally recorded in 1967 by Johnny Darrell, who scored a number nine country hit with it that year.



I always thought this was a very powerful song. There aren't too many songs about disabled war veterans and this one made it's point as far as I am concerned. It was a big hit, but I'll bet most people missed the point. You can blame neither the vet nor his wife for the way they feel. They both really lose in this situation and the song is terribly sad for both of them. You figure that all of those who survived combat came home in one piece and had no problems? Figure again!

The Vietnam War Song Page
You've painted up your lips and rolled and curled your tinted hair,
Ruby are you contemplating going out somewhere?
The shadows on the wall tell me the sun is going down,
Oh Ruby, don't take your love to town.

It wasn't me that started that old crazy Asian war,
But I was proud to go and do my patriotic chore,
And yes, it's true that I'm not the man I used to be,
Oh Ruby, I still need some company.

It's hard to love a man whose legs are bent and paralyzed,
And the wants and needs of a woman your age really I realize,
But it won't be long, I've heard them say, until I'm not around,
Oh Ruby, don't take your love to town.

She's leaving now cause I just heard the slamming of the door,
The way I know I heard its slams one hundred times before,
And if I could move I'd get my gun and put her in the ground,
Oh Ruby, don't take your love to town.

Oh Ruby, for God's sake, turn around

2005/4/27 - 22:56


Quella di Kenny Rogers & The First Edition è una cover di un brano scritto nel 1967 dal cantante country Lonnie Melvin "Mel" Tillis basandosi sulla storia di una coppia di suoi vicini di casa. Tillis ci risparmiò però il finale tragico Infatti, il suo vicino, un ex GI gravemente ferito in Germania durante la seconda guera mondiale, finì per ammazzare davvero la moglie per poi suicidarsi...

Alessandro - 2009/7/23 - 16:16




Main Page

Please report any error in lyrics or commentaries to antiwarsongs@gmail.com

Note for non-Italian users: Sorry, though the interface of this website is translated into English, most commentaries and biographies are in Italian and/or in other languages like French, German, Spanish, Russian etc.




hosted by inventati.org