album version - E SS FORTUNE
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[INTRO]
C7 F7 G7 F7
C7


[VERSE 1]
   C7
In Nineteen and Double-Aught a harlot who was hot to trot
       Bb          F7            C7
Gave a fine little bijoux to the world
       C7
With a blacksmith for a makeshift doc in a cathouse far from Camelot
    Bb                  F7          C7
Her goldmine brought to bear a baby girl
         G7
When the child screamed from life's first slap
    G7
The boss said "Kid get used to that
       G7
You'll never meet a day that isn't cruel"
        C7
And she wrapped her babe in a petticoat, grabbed a bottle and made a toast
       Bb             F7            C7
Here's to my gorgeous bastard, Ruby Jewel


[CHORUS]
        F7                        C7
And the man at the piano played a tune
    F7                           C7
And everybody sang and danced in the saloon
       G7
Except Ruby (Ruby)
       F7
No not Ruby (Ruby)
     C7
Ruby Jewel


[VERSE 2]
C7
Reared among the guttersnipeswhile her mama puffed a Chinese pipe
    Bb             F7           C7
The salad days for Ruby didn't last
C7
Forced to work and pay her dues inside that poor man's Moulin Rouge
  Bb             F7             C7
A snot-nosed kid had to grow up fast
G7
Night and day she toiled and sweat
      G7
While brothel patrons placed their bets
   G7
On who would be the first to break her in
C7
Then one night the madam screams "Ruby, get to room thirteen
        Bb            F7                        C7
There's someone there who thinks you're quite a gem"


[CHORUS]
        F7                        C7
And the man at the piano played a tune
    F7                           C7
And everybody sang and danced in the saloon
       G7
Except Ruby (Ruby)
       F7
No not Ruby (Ruby)
     C7
Ruby Jewel


[VERSE 3]
   C7
In done-up hair and a borrowed dress she climbed the stairs scared to death
Bb                F7                  C7
Said a prayer and tiptoed through the door
    C7
But on deaf ears her prayer fell 'cause through a tear she stared at hell
Bb                F7              C7
Standing there in nothing but his drawers
    G7
She recognized the whiskered chin
G7
Bloodshot eyes and foul-mouthed grin
   G7
He was the man who wore the silver star
    C7
She tried to turn around and run, but he pulled out his big six gun
Bb                F7             C7
And said "Hon you won't get very far"


[CHORUS]
        F7                        C7
And the man at the piano played a tune
    F7                           C7
And everybody sang and danced in the saloon
       G7
Except Ruby (Ruby)
       F7
No not Ruby (Ruby)
     C7
Ruby Jewel


[VERSE 4]
C7
Ruby Jewel woke up in bed a crimson pool between her legs
Bb           F7               C7
Naked as the day that she was born
C7
But lying there next to him made her wish she hadn't been
   Bb                F7            C7
If this was all that living had in store
G7
Making sure he was asleep
    G7
She quietly got to her feet
G7
Found his gun and aimed it between his eyes
    C7
She kept it there til he came to so he could stare down the barrel too
Bb                 F7                   C7
Pulled the trigger once and watched him die


[CHORUS]
        F7                        C7
And the man at the piano played a tune
    F7                           C7
And everybody sang and danced in the saloon
       G7
Except Ruby (Ruby)
       F7
No not Ruby (Ruby)
     C7
Ruby Jewel


[VERSE 5]
     C7
On a rainy night in 1912 locked inside the town's new jail
Bb            F7             C7
Ruby carved a message in the stone
C7
When morning came hacks lead her out in ankle chains right through the crowd
    Bb            F7               C7
Who waited in the mud to watch the show
     G7
They walked her up the gallows steps
    G7
And put the rope around her neck
G7
Dropped the trap as all the watchers cheered
    C7
But on the wall of a cell in a tiny scrawl and misspelled
Bb              F7             C7
Were the words "Ruby Jewel Was Here"


[CHORUS]
        F7                        C7
And the man at the piano played a tune
    F7                           C7
And everybody sang and danced in the saloon
       G7
Except Ruby (Ruby)
       F7
No not Ruby (Ruby)
     C7
Ruby Jewel