While the Buckaroos originally featured a fiddle and retained pedal steel guitar into the 1970s, their sound on records and onstage was always more stripped-down and elemental. The band's signature style was based on simple story lines, infectious choruses, a twangy electric guitar, an insistent rhythm supplied by a prominent drum track, and high, two-part vocal harmonies featuring Owens and his guitarist Don Rich.
From 1969 to 1986, Owens co-hosted the popular CBS television variety show Hee Haw with Roy Clark (syndicated beginning in 1971). According to his son Buddy Alan (Owens), the accidental 1974 death of Rich, his best friend, devastated him for years and impacted his creative efforts until he performed with Dwight Yoakam in 1988.
Owens is a member of both the Country Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Owens was born on a farm in Sherman, Texas, United States, to Alvis Edgar Owens Sr. and Maicie Azel (née Ellington) Owens.
In the biography About Buck., Rich Kienzle writes: "'Buck' was a donkey on the Owens farm." "When Alvis Jr. was three or four years old, he walked into the house and announced that his name also was "Buck." That was fine with the family, and the boy's name became "Buck" from then on."He attended public school for grades 1–3 in Garland, Texas.
Owens' family moved to Mesa, Arizona, in 1937 during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. While attending school in Arizona, Owens found that while he disliked formal schoolwork, he could often satisfy class requirements by singing or performing in school plays. A self-taught musician and singer, Owens became proficient on guitar, mandolin, horns, and drums. When he obtained his first electric steel guitar, he taught himself to play it after his father adapted an old radio into an amplifier. Owens quit school in the ninth grade in order to help work on his father's farm and pursue a music career.
Owens had three sons: Buddy Alan (who charted several hits as a Capitol recording artist in the early 1970s and appeared with his father numerous times on Hee Haw), Johnny, and Michael Owens.
Owens successfully recovered from oral cancer in the early 1990s, but had additional health problems near the end of the 1990s and the early 2000s, including pneumonia and a minor stroke in 2004. These health problems had forced him to curtail his regular weekly performances with the Buckaroos at his Crystal Palace. Owens died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack at his ranch just north of Bakersfield on March 25, 2006, only hours after performing at his club. He was 76 years old.
Owens was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996. He was ranked No. 12 in CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music in 2003. In addition, CMT also ranked the Buckaroos No. 2 in the network's 20 Greatest Bands in 2005. He was also inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
The stretch of US Highway 82 in Sherman, Texas, is named the Buck Owens Freeway in his honor.
Ruby
Buck Owens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Honey are you mad at your man?
I will set you in the shade
Shovel with my spade
Diggin' in the brown gold mine
Ruby, Ruby
Honey are you mad at your man?
I've done all I can do
Get along with you
Still you're not satisfied
Ruby, Ruby
Honey are you mad at your man?
If you don't believe I'm right
Then call on me tonight
I'll take you to my shady so cold
Ruby, Ruby
Honey are you mad at your man?
Ruby, Ruby
Honey are you mad at your man?
The lyrics to Buck Owens's song "Ruby" are about a man addressing a woman named Ruby who is seemingly upset with him. Throughout the song, he asks repeatedly if she is mad at him and seems to be putting in a lot of effort to appease her. He tells her that he will set her in the shade and shovel with his spade in the brown gold mine, but despite his efforts, Ruby still seems unsatisfied. The man asks Ruby to trust him, offering to take her to his shady so cold, and asks one final time if she's mad at him.
The song is interpreted by many as an attempt by the man to reconcile with a lover who has become distant or angry, although the exact nature of their relationship is left somewhat ambiguous. The use of the phrase "Honey are you mad at your man?" gives the impression that the man is trying to appeal to Ruby's sense of affection for him and the use of the word "shady" could be interpreted as a metaphor for some type of refuge or escape.
Line by Line Meaning
Ruby, Ruby
The singer, Buck Owens, calls out to his lover Ruby twice, possibly emphasizing the importance of what he is about to say
Honey are you mad at your man?
Buck Owens asks Ruby if she is upset with him, perhaps due to recent events in their relationship
I will set you in the shade
Buck Owens offers to shade Ruby, possibly implying that he will provide her with protection or comfort
Shovel with my spade
Buck Owens will use his spade to dig, possibly indicating that he is a hard worker or a laborer
Diggin' in the brown gold mine
Buck Owens uses the metaphor of a gold mine to describe his work, suggesting that there is value in his labor even if it may not be immediately visible
I've done all I can do
Buck Owens feels that he has put in effort to improve their relationship and make Ruby happy
Get along with you
Buck Owens wants to get along with Ruby and have a harmonious relationship
Still you're not satisfied
Despite his efforts, Ruby is still not happy, possibly indicating that their relationship has deeper issues
If you don't believe I'm right
Buck Owens challenges Ruby's opinion, suggesting that she may not be seeing things clearly
Then call on me tonight
Buck Owens suggests that Ruby should reach out to him for help or support if she needs it
I'll take you to my shady so cold
Buck Owens offers to take Ruby to a place that is shady and cool, possibly offering respite from the heat or conflict
Ruby, Ruby
Buck Owens calls out to Ruby one final time
Honey are you mad at your man?
Buck Owens repeats his question from earlier in the song, possibly indicating that he still wants to work through their issues
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: MAE CARVER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Greg Trent
One of greatest Bluegrass Albums produced
tom bigbee
How can anyone NOT like that song?!
Tomkat 56
First time I heard this, it just blew me away. Buck and bluegrass. They go together like wine and strawberries.
elvismemories52
Buck Owens wrote his songs so the bass won't rattle the AM radio in your cars back then. Buck Owens was the first person the Beatles wanted to meet when they went to Capital Records. Buck Owens could play anything with Don Rich and the Buckaroo's
Steven .Wilkes
First CD I bought after hearing on cassette in 2005. Rell-to-Rell was where I heard it first but, was copied to casette because, that's what I had. Love all three!
mike stratocaster
A brilliant cover.......Buck is STILL da mane!
Appalachian American
this is a jam makes me want to go back in time & drive fast cars &haul moonshine in a 1950 Ford just like thunder road may not be the original but Buck Owens nailed it
curly239
Awsome song and awesome memory from childhood! Thanks for the upload!
Loretta Mull
REAL MUSIC and Banjo Pickin❤️❤️❤️
Dale E
I like this version the best but its a great song no matter which one of your favorite artists perform it.