"Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" is a song written by Mel Tillis about a paralyzed veteran who lies helplessly as his wife "paints [herself] up" to go out for the evening without him; he believes she is going in search of a lover. As he hears the door slam behind her, he claims that he would murder her if he could move to get his gun, and pleads for her to reconsider. A line in the song about a "crazy Asian war" and the time of the song's release led to the assumption the song was about a veteran of the Vietnam War, though this was never stated in the lyrics. However, Tillis stated that the song was about a veteran of World War II. "Ruby" was first recorded by Waylon Jennings in 1966. Johnny Darrell reached number nine on the country charts with the song in 1967, and Kenny Rogers and The First Edition released it in 1969. Chart performance The First Edition version In 1969, after the success Kenny Rogers and The First Edition had enjoyed with the hits "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" and "But You Know I Love You," Rogers wanted to take his group more into a country music direction. They recorded their version of the song, with Rogers singing the lead, in a single take. The record became an international hit for them, reaching number two in the UK Singles Chart and staying in the top-ten for 12 weeks. In the United States it reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 39 on the country chart. In 1977, now performing solo after the First Edition disbanded in early 1976, Rogers made re-recordings of this, and a number of other First Edition hits, for his 1977 greatest hits package Ten Years of Gold. (It was later issued in the UK as The Kenny Rogers Singles Album.) Ten Years of Gold topped the US country charts under that title, and as The Kenny Rogers Singles Album, it was just as successful in the United Kingdom. Chart performance Weekly charts Year-end charts Other versions The song has been recorded many times by various artists. The Statler Brothers covered it on their 1967 album, Big Country Hits. Other artists who have recorded versions include Bobby Bare, Dale Hawkins, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Jerry Reed, Roger Miller, Cake,