Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town

The First Edition version

Kenny Rogers and the First Edition recorded their version in a single take in June 1968, with Rogers singing lead. The group had previously scored hits with "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" and "But You Know I Love You," and Rogers wanted to steer the group toward country music in 1969.

The recording ends with Rogers's spoken plea: "For God's sake(s), turn around." Released in 1969, it became an international hit, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart and staying in the top ten for twelve weeks. In the United States, it peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and number thirty-nine on the country chart. After the First Edition disbanded in early 1976, Rogers re-recorded the song for his 1977 greatest-hits package Ten Years of Gold, which topped the US country charts and was also successful in the United Kingdom.

Other versions

The song has been covered by numerous artists, including the Statler Brothers on their 1967 album Big Country Hits, as well as Bobby Bare, Walter Brennan, Dale Hawkins, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Jerry Reed, Roger Miller, Cake, The Killers, Sort Sol, Leonard Nimoy, Ralph Stanley II, and the German band Wolfsheim. Several foreign-language renditions exist: Nana Mouskouri recorded a French version titled "Ruby, garde ton cœur ici" for her 1970 album Dans le soleil et dans le vent; Gerhard Wendland recorded a German version "Ruby, schau einmal über'n Zaun" in 1970; Pavel Bobek recorded a Czech version "Oh Ruby, nechtěj mi lásku brát" in 1970; and Eddy Mitchell recorded a French version "Ruby tu reviens au pays" for his 1974 album Rocking in Nashville. Gary Holton and Casino Steel's English-language version was a number one hit in Norway at the beginning of 1982.

Answer songs

Geraldine Stevens released an answer song titled "Billy, I've Got to Go to Town" in 1969, sung to the same melody with an arrangement similar to the First Edition version. The song peaked at number 117 on the pop chart and number 57 on the country chart, and reached number 83 in Canada. In Stevens's song, Ruby affirms her love for her disabled husband and pleads for him to trust her fidelity. Bobby Womack's 1972 album Understanding included the song "Ruby Dean," with lyrics and melody similar to the original but told from the perspective of Ruby's son, who urges his mother to respect his father and stop seeing other men.