Gibson was born in Shelby, North Carolina into a poor working-class family, he dropped out of school in the second grade.
Gibson's first band was called Sons of the Soil, with whom he made his first recording in 1948. Among his greatest hits were "Oh Lonesome Me" (later recorded by both Ray Charles and Neil Young) and "Blue Blue Day" (both No. 1 hits in 1958); "Don't Tell Me Your Troubles" (1959); "Sea of Heartbreak" (1961); "Lonesome No. 1" and "I Can Mend Your Broken Heart" (1962); and "Woman (Sensuous Woman)" (a No. 1 hit in 1972).
Gibson recorded a series of successful duets with Dottie West in the late 1960s, the most successful of which were the No. 2 country hit "Rings of Gold" (1969) and the top 10 hit "There's a Story Goin' Round" (1970). In 1957, Gibson travelled back to Nashville to record "Oh Lonesome Me" for RCA. He and producer Chet Atkins decided to abandon the traditional steel guitar and fiddle and use a new sound featuring only guitars, a piano, a drummer, upright bass, and background singers. It became one of the first examples of what would be called the Nashville Sound and won Gibson a #1 hit; it also set the pattern for a long series of other RCA hits, including “Blue Blue Day” (1958).
A talented songwriter, Gibson was nicknamed "the sad poet" because he frequently wrote songs that told of loneliness and lost love. He wrote and sang "I Can't Stop Loving You", a song that would be recorded by more than 700 artists, most notably by Ray Charles with a pop version in 1962. He also wrote and recorded "Sweet Dreams" that would become a major 1963 crossover hit for Patsy Cline. A great fan, in 1967 Roy Orbison recorded an album of his songs simply titled: Roy Orbison Sings Don Gibson.
Don Gibson was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1973 and in 2001 into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
On his passing in 2003, he was interred in the Sunset Cemetery, in his hometown of Shelby, North Carolina.
Cold Cold Heart
Don Gibson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That you're my every dream
Yet you're afraid each thing I do
Is just some evil scheme
A memory from your lonesome past
Keeps us so far apart
Why can't I free your doubtful mind
And melt your cold, cold heart
Another love before my time
Made your heart sad and blue
And so my heart is paying now
For things I didn't do
In anger unkind words are said
That make the teardrops start
Why can't I free your doubtful mind
And melt your cold, cold heart
You'll never know how much it hurts
To see you sit and cry
You know you need and want my love
Yet you're afraid to try
Why do you run and hide from lies
To try, it just ain't smart
Why can't I free your doubtful mind
And melt your cold, cold heart
There was a time when I believed
That you belonged to me
But now I know your heart
Is shackled to a memory
The more I learn to care for you
The more we drift apart
Why can't I free your doubtful mind
And melt your cold, cold heart
The lyrics to Don Gibson's song "Cold Cold Heart" are about a man who is desperately trying to win the love and trust of the woman he loves. The man is convinced that the woman is afraid of him and believes that he has some ulterior motive. He tries to convince her that he truly cares for her, but she remains doubtful and distant. The man believes that the woman's past experiences with love have made her unable to trust and love again.
The song is filled with heartbreak and longing, as the man realizes that he cannot change the woman's mind, no matter how hard he tries. He is frustrated by her unwillingness to let go of her past and take a chance on love. He expresses that it hurts him to see her cry, but he cannot convince her to take a chance on him. The lyrics are a poignant reminder of how difficult it can be to win someone's heart, especially when they have been hurt in the past.
Line by Line Meaning
I tried so hard, my dear, to show
I made great efforts to prove to you
That you're my every dream
that you are the one I always think about and desire
Yet you're afraid each thing I do
But you are always afraid that my actions are some kind of wicked scheme
Is just some evil scheme
that I am doing something wrong
A memory from your lonesome past
Your past lonely experiences and memories
Keeps us so far apart
is preventing us from being together
Why can't I free your doubtful mind
Why can't I convince you or reassure you and end your doubts?
And melt your cold, cold heart
And make you more open and loving
Another love before my time
Someone whom you loved before you met me
Made your heart sad and blue
That person caused you pain and misery
And so my heart is paying now
Now I am the one who is suffering and paying the price for their mistakes
For things I didn't do
Although I had nothing to do with it
In anger unkind words are said
When people are upset, they say hurtful things
That make the teardrops start
which often leads to tears
You'll never know how much it hurts
You have no idea how painful it is
To see you sit and cry
to watch you cry and feel helpless to comfort you
You know you need and want my love
You are aware that you require and crave my love
Yet you're afraid to try
but you lack the courage to give it a chance
Why do you run and hide from lies
Why do you avoid confronting or dealing with the truth
To try, it just ain't smart
It's foolish to not to take risks to improve our relationship
There was a time when I believed
There was that time when I had faith in you
That you belonged to me
That you were mine and I was yours
But now I know your heart
But now I realise that your heart
Is shackled to a memory
is trapped by an old memory
The more I learn to care for you
The more I care for you
The more we drift apart
The more distant we become
Why can't I free your doubtful mind
Why am I not able to ease your mind of your doubts
And melt your cold, cold heart
And break down the walls around your heart and make you love me again
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Hank Williams, Sr.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind