Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town

Steyn On-line ^ | March 22, 2020 | Mark Steyn

[Twotone]

Mark is feeling a little under the weather today, so in lieu of a brand new Song of the Week we thought we'd re-publish his thoughts on a boffo global hit of the Sixties. This essay first appeared a little over two years ago to mark the passing of Mel Tillis. We reprise it now to mark the passing of Kenny Rogers. This story starts with Mel and ends with Kenny, the man who gave Mel's song its most perfect expression:

The Vietnam War cast, as they say, long shadows. It left, as they also say, deep scars in the American psyche. And among those shadows and scars is the fact that every so often I find that, unbidden, a line of lyric pops up into my head - such as:

And the wants and the needs of a woman your age, Ruby, I realize...

Also:

And if I could move I'd get my gun and put her in the ground...

The Sixties gave us the occasional pro-Vietnam hit ("Ballad of the Green Berets") and anti-Vietnam hit ("I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag"), but "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" has endured beyond either, and has a character all its own:

[yarddog]

At least she didn’t leave him with six hungry children like Lucille.

[ZirconEncrustedTweezers]

Four hungry children, but who’s counting?

As a kid, I endured a lot of Kenny Rogers’s music. Mom was a fan.

[gibsonguy]

If you need a big laugh. listen to this. It’s hilarious.

https://youtu.be/bHNhmwmNsPc

[clintonh8r]

The first time I heard the Rogers rendition of Ruby I was on Okinawa, on my way “in country.”

Downer.

[Fiji Hill]

My favorite pro-Vietnam song is Take the Time by the Shangri-Las (1967)

[MuttTheHoople]

Mel Tillis died in 2017

[Fiji Hill]

The Ballad of the Yellow Beret--The Beach Bums

[dynachrome]

Early Kenny Rogers:

https://youtu.be/meJP410N9Gg

“Associated Performer, Vocals, Bass Guitar: Kenny Rogers”

Psychedelic stuff

[yarddog]

Thanks. I can only remember a few things well anymore.

[Bratch]

I read that a couple of days ago.

I was shocked that it was based on a true story. The real guy was a WW2 vet; he eventually divorced “Ruby” then wound up killing his third wife and committing suicide.

[Fiji Hill]

I recall hearing this on the radio in the fall of 1966.

Wish You Were Here, Buddy--Pat Boone

[yarddog]

For some reason a few people like to make fun of Pat Boone but he had a great voice and was a good actor too. One of my favorite singers ever.

[Fiji Hill]

I recall hearing this on the radio in the fall of 1966.

Wish You Were Here, Buddy--Pat Boone

[ZirconEncrustedTweezers]

It’s hard for me to not associate this song with The Big Lebowski.

[Fiji Hill]

For some reason a few people like to make fun of Pat Boone but he had a great voice and was a good actor too. One of my favorite singers ever.

Back in 1957, he was a contender with Elvis Presley for the title "King of Rock and Roll." He also wrote the book Twixt Twelve and Twenty (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1958). And he's still active today, hosting the Pat Boone Hour on the Sirius satellite radio program Fifties on Five.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Not to mention the crop in the fields.

[madison10]

I do not remember when Kenny Rogers looked like that. Too young. Good video.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

I always liked the Geezinslaw Brothers’ “Chubby, Please Take Your Love to Town”.

“She’s leavin’ now, ‘cause I just heard the truck back to the door,
Brought fifteen men to help her up, and could’ve used three more,
And if I could move, I’d dance and sing and drink the bottle down,
Oh Chubby, please take your love to town...”

[Fiji Hill]

This is probably the same Ruby:
Wicked Ruby--Danny Zella & the Zell Rocks (1959)

And this is probably the same Lucille:
Lucille--The Drifters (1954)

Both are a must to avoid!