About the song
Kenny Rogers & The First Edition, a popular country music group of the 1960s and 1970s, released “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town” as a heartfelt ballad about lost love and heartbreak. This poignant song, with its soulful melody and Rogers’ emotive vocals, became a hit single and a defining track for the band’s iconic sound.
With its introspective lyrics and melancholic tone, “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town” explores themes of love, loss, and regret. The song’s narrator recounts a failed relationship, expressing his longing for his lost love and his regret for not appreciating her while she was still around. Rogers’ heartfelt performance and the song’s evocative melody make it a powerful and moving listening experience.
The opening lines, “Ruby, don’t take your love to town,” immediately establish the song’s central theme and set a melancholic tone. The lyrics continue to explore the narrator’s feelings of loss and regret, while also highlighting the destructive power of heartbreak. Rogers’ soulful vocals and the song’s haunting melody convey a sense of sadness and longing.
“Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town” is more than just a sad love song; it is a timeless classic that resonates with listeners of all ages. The song’s universal themes of love, loss, and regret make it a relatable and enduring piece of music history. Rogers’ heartfelt performance and the song’s evocative melody continue to touch the hearts of audiences worldwide, making it a beloved and enduring piece of country music.
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Lyrics
You’ve painted up your lips and rolled and curled your tinted hair
Ruby, are you contemplating going out somewhere?
The shadow on the wall tells 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 the needs of a woman of your age, Ruby, 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’ve heard it slam 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 sakes turn around