In Nineteen and Double-Aught
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A harlot who was hot to trot
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Gave a fine little bijoux to the world
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With a blacksmith for a makeshift doc
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In a cathouse far from Camelot
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Her goldmine brought to bear a baby girl
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When the child screamed from life's first slap
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The boss said "Kid get used to that
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You'll never meet a jake that isn't cruel"
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And she wrapped her babe in a petticoat
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Grabbed a bottle and made a toast
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Here's to my gorgeous bastard, Ruby Jewel
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And the man at the piano played a tune
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And everybody sang and danced in the saloon
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Except Ruby (Ruby)
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No not Ruby (Ruby)
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Ruby Jewel
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Reared among the guttersnipes
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While her mama puffed a Chinese pipe
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The salad days for Ruby didn't last
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Forced to work and pay her dues
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Inside that poor man's Moulin Rouge
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A snot-nosed kid had to grow up fast
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Night and day she toiled and sweat
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While brothel patrons placed their bets
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On who would be the first to break her in
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Then one night the madam screams
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"Ruby, get to room thirteen
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There's someone there who thinks you're quite a gem"
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And the man at the piano played a tune
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And everybody sang and danced in the saloon
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Except Ruby (Ruby)
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No not Ruby (Ruby)
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Ruby Jewel
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In done-up hair and a borrowed dress
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She climbed the stairs scared to death
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Said a prayer and tiptoed through the door
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But on deaf ears her prayer fell
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Cause through a tear she stared at hell
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Standing there in nothing but his drawers
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She recognized the whiskered chin
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Bloodshot eyes and foul-mouthed grin
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He was the man who wore the silver star
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She tried to turn around and run
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But he pulled out his big six gun
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And said "Hon you won't get very far"
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And the man at the piano played a tune
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And everybody sang and danced in the saloon
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Except Ruby (Ruby)
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No not Ruby (Ruby)
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Ruby Jewel
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Ruby Jewel woke up in bed
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A crimson pool between her legs
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Naked as the day that she was born
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But lying there next to him
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Made her wish she hadn't been
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If this was all that living had in store
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Making sure he was asleep
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She quietly got to her feet
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Found his gun and aimed it between his eyes
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She kept it there til he came to
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So he could stare down the barrel too
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Pulled the trigger once and watched him die
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And the man at the piano played a tune
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And everybody sang and danced in the saloon
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Except Ruby (Ruby)
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No not Ruby (Ruby)
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Ruby Jewel
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On a rainy night in 1912
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Locked inside the town's new jail
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Ruby carved a message in the stone
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When morning came hacks lead her out
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In ankle chains right through the crowd
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Who waited in the mud to watch the show
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They walked her up the gallows steps
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And put the rope around her neck
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Dropped the trap as all the watchers cheered
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But on the wall of a cell
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In a tiny scrawl and mispelled
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Were the words "Ruby Jewel Was Here"
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And the man at the piano played a tune
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And everybody sang and danced in the saloon
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Except Ruby (Ruby)
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No not Ruby (Ruby)
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Ruby Jewel
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-----------------
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Ruby Jewel Was Here
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Allison Moorer |