"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 up" to go out for the evening without him; he believes that she is going in search of a lover.
Johnny Darrell reached number nine on the country charts with the song in 1967,[1] and Kenny Rogers and the First Edition released it in 1969.
The record became an international hit for them in 1969, reaching number two in the UK Singles Chart and staying in the top ten for 12 weeks.
Other artists who have recorded versions include Bobby Bare, Walter Brennan, Dale Hawkins, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Jerry Reed, Roger Miller, Cake, The Killers, Sort Sol,[13] Leonard Nimoy, Ralph Stanley II,[14] and the German band Wolfsheim.
A "social commentary" video consisting solely of a camera panning back and forth in a bedroom while the First Edition recording of the song played was shown at the end of a Huntley-Brinkley Report during 1969.
Chet Huntley set up the video by linking it to the controversial Vietnam War and the sacrifices made by U.S. servicemen and their families.