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14,015 TRANSITIONS ANALYZED#1 at 23%: Which Transition?The 100 most repeated chord transitions extracted from thousands of songs. Even the first 10 will transform your guitar practice routine.

Kenny Rogers - Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsC, G, Dm, F, Am
Strumming↓-↓↑-↑↓↑

Before you play, tune your guitar and use the tools below to set up your view and flow. Using the Transpose tool, switch to D,G keys to play this song with easier chords.

  • Guitar C chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-0-1-0Guitar C chord diagram
  • Guitar G chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-3Guitar G chord diagram
  • Guitar Dm chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-1Guitar Dm chord diagram
  • Guitar F chord diagram Fingering: 1-3-3-2-1-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar F chord diagram
  • Guitar Am chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-1-0Guitar Am chord diagram

[Opening]
[C]You’ve painted up your lips and rolled and
curled your tinted [G]hair [Dm]
[C]Ruby are you contemplating
[F]going out some[G]where
The [Dm]shadow on the wall tells me
the [G]sun is going down [Dm]
Oh [C]Ru[F]by-[Am]y-[Dm]y [Dm]
Don’t take your love to [C]town

[verse 2]
It [Dm]wasn’t me that started that old [C]crazy Asian war
But [Dm]I was proud to go and do my [F]patriotic [G]chore
And [Dm]yes, it’s true that I’m not the [G]man I used to be [Dm]
Oh [C]Ru[F]by-[Am]y-[Dm]y [Dm]
I still need some compa[C]ny

[verse 3]
It’s [C]hard to love a man whose legs are [F]bent and para[G]lyzed [Dm]
and the [C]wants and the needs of a woman of your age
[F]Ruby, I rea[G]lize
But it [Dm]won’t be long I’ve heard them say un[G]til I’m not around [Dm]
Oh [C]Ru[F]by-[Am]y-[Dm]y [Dm]
Don’t take your love to [C]town

[Closing]
[C]She’s leaving now ’cause I just heard the [Dm]slammin’ of the [G]door
The [C]way I know I’ve heard it slam one [F]hundred times be[G]fore
And if [Dm]I could move I’d get my gun and [G]put her in the ground [Dm]
Oh [C]Ru[F]by-[Am]y-[Dm]y [Dm]
Don’t take your love to [C]town
Oh [C]Ru[F]by-[Am]y-[Dm]y [Dm]
For God’s sake turn a[C]round

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SONG DATA3 Chords, 200 Chains, 1 BookDiscover the most-used three-chord combinations in songs and build real command on guitar.
14,015 TRANSITIONS ANALYZED#1 at 23%: Which Transition?Master guitar today with the most repeated high-impact chord transitions.
ArtistKenny Rogers
AlbumTen Years of Gold
GenresCountry
Year1978
KeyC

How to play Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Kenny Rogers - Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town on guitar requires 5 chords and 8 core chord transitions. You can find the full step-by-step guide below. Before you start, tune your instrument. The song uses the ↓-↓↑-↑↓↑ pattern; practice it muted first, or simplify to downstrokes while you learn the changes.

Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town uses these transitions most often: Dm → C (12), G → Dm (10), and C → F (9). These transitions may feel a little challenging at first, but with steady practice you can play this song quickly.When you are ready, begin with C - G chord transition.

1. C → G chord transition

Guitar C chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-0-1-0Guitar C chord diagram
Guitar G chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-3Guitar G chord diagram

To move from C to G;

  1. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on A string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 2 to E string fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from A string fret 3 and place it on E string fret 3.
C to G

2. G → Dm chord transition

Guitar G chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-3Guitar G chord diagram
Guitar Dm chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-1Guitar Dm chord diagram

To move from G to Dm;

  1. Lift your index finger from A string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 3 to G string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from E string fret 3 and place it on B string fret 3.
G to Dm

3. Dm → C chord transition

Guitar Dm chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-1Guitar Dm chord diagram
Guitar C chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-0-1-0Guitar C chord diagram

To move from Dm to C;

  1. Lift your index finger from E string fret 1 and place it on B string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to D string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from B string fret 3 and place it on A string fret 3.
Dm to C

4. C → F chord transition

Guitar C chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-0-1-0Guitar C chord diagram
Guitar F chord diagram Fingering: 1-3-3-2-1-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar F chord diagram

To move from C to F;

  1. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 2 to G string fret 2.
  3. Keep ring finger on A string fret 3.
  4. Place pinky on D string fret 3.
C to F

5. F → G chord transition

To move from F to G;

  1. While playing F, lift your pinky from D string fret 3.
  2. Lift your index finger from E string fret 1 and place it on A string fret 2.
  3. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to E string fret 3.
  4. Lift your ring finger from A string fret 3 and place it on E string fret 3.

6. F → Am chord transition

To move from F to Am;

  1. While playing F, lift your pinky from D string fret 3.
  2. Lift your index finger from E string fret 1 and place it on B string fret 1.
  3. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to D string fret 2.
  4. Lift your ring finger from A string fret 3 and place it on G string fret 2.

7. Am → Dm chord transition

To move from Am to Dm;

  1. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 2 to G string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from G string fret 2 and place it on B string fret 3.

8. Dm → F chord transition

To move from Dm to F;

  1. Lift your index finger from E string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 1.
  2. Keep middle finger on G string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger from B string fret 3 to A string fret 3.
  4. Place pinky on D string fret 3.

Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town.

  • Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town includes 57 chord transitions, 8 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.02% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town contains 4 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After Dm, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (18%), G (16%), and Am (14%).
    • Dm → C: 18%
    • Dm → G: 16%
    After C, the most likely next chords across Chordier are G (35%), F (16%), and D (11%).
    • C → G: 35%
    • C → F: 16%
SONG DATA3 Chords, 200 Chains, 1 BookThe 200 most popular three-chord chains from real songs. See which songs use each chain and expand your repertoire with patterns that actually matter.