Reed was born on the 20th March 1937 in Atlanta, Georgia, the second child of Robert and Cynthia Hubbard. Reed's parents separated four months after his birth, and he and his sister spent seven years in foster homes or orphanages. Reed was reunited with his mother and stepfather in 1944.
By high school (O'Keefe High School, Atlanta, Georgia) Reed was already writing and singing music, having picked up the guitar as a child. At the age of eighteen he was signed by publisher and record producer Bill Lowery to make his first record, "If the Good Lord's Willing and the Creeks Don't Rise". At Capitol Records, he recorded both country and rockabilly singles with little success, until label mate Gene Vincent covered his "Crazy Legs" in 1958. By 1958, Lowery signed Reed to his National Recording Corporation, and he recorded for NRC as both artist and as a member of the staff band, which included other NRC artists Joe South and Ray Stevens.
Reed married Priscilla Mitchell in 1959. They have two daughters, Charlotte Elaine Reed Stewart, and Seidina Ann Reed Hinesley.
After a two-year stint in the military, Reed moved to Nashville in 1961 to continue his songwriting career, which had continued to gather steam while he was in the armed forces, thanks to Brenda Lee's 1960 cover of his "That's All You Got to Do". He also became a popular session and tour guitarist. In 1962, he scored some success with the singles "Goodnight Irene" and "Hully Gully Guitar", which found their way to Chet Atkins, who produced Reed's 1965 "If I Don't Live Up to It".
In 1967 Reed had his first chart hit with "Guitar Man", which Elvis Presley soon covered. Presley had gone to Nashville to record in 1967, and one of the songs he was working on was "Guitar Man," which Reed had written and recorded. Jarvis hired Reed to play on the session. Reed also played the guitar for Presley's "Too Much Monkey Business" (1968), recorded at the same session. After Presley recorded another of Reed's songs, "U.S. Male", the songwriter recorded an Elvis tribute, "Tupelo Mississippi Flash", which became his first top-twenty hit.
After releasing the 1970 crossover hit "Amos Moses", a hybrid of rock, country, and Cajun styles, which reached number eight on the U.S. pop charts, Reed teamed up with Atkins for the duet LP Me & Jerry. During the 1970 television season, he was a regular on the Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, and in 1971 he issued his biggest hit, "When You're Hot, You're Hot", which was also the title track of his first solo album and reached number nine on the pop charts.
A second collaboration with Atkins, Me & Chet, followed in 1972, as did a series of top-forty singles, which alternated between frenetic, straightforward country offerings and more pop-flavoured material. A year later, he scored his second number-one single with "Lord, Mr. Ford" (written by Dick Feller), from the album of the same name.
Reed was featured in animated form in a December 9, 1972 episode of Hanna-Barbera's The New Scooby-Doo Movies, "The Phantom of the Country Music Hall". He sang and played the song "Pretty Mary Sunlite", which is played throughout the episode as Scooby and the gang search for Reed's missing guitar.
In the mid-1970s, Reed's recording career began to take a back seat to his acting aspirations. In 1974, he co-starred with his close friend Burt Reynolds in the film W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings. While he continued to record throughout the decade, his greatest visibility was as a film star, almost always in tandem with headliner Reynolds; after 1976's Gator, Reed appeared in 1978's High Ballin and 1979's Hot Stuff, which won the Best Picture award from the Pawn Shop Association of America. He also co-starred in all three of the Smokey and the Bandit films; the first, which premiered in 1977, landed Reed a number-two hit with the soundtrack's "East Bound and Down".
Reed also hosted a television variety show, filming two episodes of The Jerry Reed Show in 1976. The show featured music performances and interview segments, but did not contain the comedy skits that usually were a part of variety shows of the 1970s. Guests included Tammy Wynette, Ray Stevens, and Burt Reynolds.
Reed died on the 31st August 2008 in Nashville, Tennessee, of complications from emphysema.
Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town
Jerry Reed Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And rolled and curled your tinted hair
Ruby are you contemplating
Going out somewhere
The shadow on the wall
Tells me the sun is going down
Oh Ruby
Don't take your love to town
It wasn't me
That started that old crazy Asian war
But I was proud to go
And do my patriotic chore
And yes, it's true that
I'm not the man I used to be
Oh, Ruby I still need some company
Its hard to love a man
Whose legs are bent and paralyzed
And the wants and the needs of a woman your age
Ruby I realize,
But it won't be long I've heard them say until I not around
Oh Ruby
Don't take your love to town
She's leaving now cause
I just heard the slamming of the door
The way I know I've heard it
Some 100 times before
And if I could move I'd get my gun
And put her in the ground
Oh Ruby
Don't take your love to town
Oh Ruby for God's sake turn around
Jerry Reed’s “Ruby Don’t Take Your Love to Town” is a poignant song of forlorn love and a plea for companionship, sung from the perspective of a Vietnam War veteran named Jack. Jack is a wheelchair-bound war veteran who is unable to satisfy his wife Ruby’s desires in bed. Ruby, therefore, looks outward for a little fulfillment outside of her marriage. The song begins with Jack asking Ruby not to go out, and the lyrics suggest that Ruby is getting dolled up for a night on the town. Jack is aware that once Ruby leaves, he’ll be alone and lonely, but he doesn’t want to beg her to stay. Jack’s belief in the importance of duty and honor is clear when he mentions his decisions to go to war in defense of his country. However, his war experiences have left him with physical injuries and psychological scars, and he's aware of the burden they place on Ruby. He is aware that she is young and needs physical stimulation, and he can no longer provide that for her. He understands her potential infidelity, but is also aware of his own desirability to her. Jack’s need for Ruby’s companionship, even under these circumstances, is palpable throughout the song.
The lyrics of the song are powerful, telling a story of heartbreak and unfulfilled love. The melody is melancholic, emphasizing the sadness of the story. The song’s popularity lasted throughout the years and has been covered by many other artists as well. The personal feelings the song touches upon are universal and could apply to any couple in similar situations.
Line by Line Meaning
You've painted up your lips
You have applied lipstick to your lips
And rolled and curled your tinted hair
You have styled your hair with curls and color
Ruby are you contemplating
Ruby, are you considering
Going out somewhere
Leaving to go somewhere
The shadow on the wall
The shadow cast on the wall
Tells me the sun is going down
Indicates that the day is coming to an end
Oh Ruby
Oh, Ruby
Don't take your love to town
Don't go out looking for love
It wasn't me
I didn't cause it
That started that old crazy Asian war
That caused the Asian war to start
But I was proud to go
But I was proud to serve
And do my patriotic chore
And do my duty as a patriot
And yes, it's true that
It's true
I'm not the man I used to be
I'm not the same person I once was
Oh, Ruby I still need some company
Oh, Ruby, I still need someone to be with me
Its hard to love a man
It's difficult to love a man
Whose legs are bent and paralyzed
Whose legs are unable to move
And the wants and the needs of a woman your age
And the desires of a woman your age
Ruby I realize,
Ruby, I understand
But it won't be long I've heard them say until I not around
But I won't be here for long, as I've heard they say
Oh Ruby
Oh, Ruby
Don't take your love to town
Don't leave to look for love
She's leaving now cause
She's leaving now because
I just heard the slamming of the door
I just heard the sound of the door slamming
The way I know I've heard it
The way that I recognize from past experience
Some 100 times before
Many times before
And if I could move I'd get my gun
If I were able to move, I would retrieve my gun
And put her in the ground
And kill her
Oh Ruby
Oh, Ruby
Don't take your love to town
Don't leave to look for love
Oh Ruby for God's sake turn around
Oh, Ruby, please turn around
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MEL TILLIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@anorakthing8968
Who the hell would give this a thumbs down?
@jamiewesson898
listen to the kenny rogers version to see why
@glentz716
I love Jerry Reed, but the Kenny Rogers cover version told everybody else not to cover this song anymore cause it had been perfected
@jasoncarman9656
Kenny did a fine job, but it’s more of a “Gentle on my mind” version.. Jerry turned up the heat and definitely prefer this version.
@1groundfog
Ruby gave it a thumb down
@jasoncarman9656
@@1groundfog Apparently so haha... Might have been Lucille ;)
@charlyW34
Those Nashville cats are tearing it up!
@eliofclark
One hell of a hook on this one
@ReinoutDijkstra
EPIC :D
@TheMahagoni
Anyone Know where that place is? wow