Song You Need to Know: Loretta Lynn’s Honky-Tonk Battle Cry ‘Ruby’s Stool’

Loretta Lynn had her first Number One country hit in 1966 with “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind).” More than 50 years later at, age 86, she can still deliver a badass barroom anthem. On her new song “Ruby’s Stool,” from her new album Wouldn’t it Be Great (out September 28th) Lynn tells the story of watching from the sidelines as her man dances with a no-good honky-tonk girl and contemplating how to handle her: “I’m gonna sit right here and empty this ashtray in her beer / I can’t wait to see her drinkin from that can!” she sings. A chorus follows that’s classic Loretta – hyper-specific biting and full of backwoods wit. Loretta’s daughter Patsy Lynn Russell said “When I hear that song, I have to smile, because I’m like, ‘She’s still got it. She still has it when she writes those songs.”