Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town

Written by Mel Tillis (1932 – 2017) about a paralyzed veteran who lies helplessly as his wife “paints up” to go out for the evening without
him. The line, “that crazy Asian war” made people think it was about the Vietnam War but Tillis stated that the song was about a veteran of World War II. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s as part of the outlaw country movement, with a long list of Top 10 hits. First recorded by Waylon Jennings in 1966. Kenny Rogers and the First Edition released it in 1969.