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.
Give Myself a Party
Don Gibson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So if you don't want to love me, baby, that'll be all right
I'm gonna take all the lovin' that I have for you
Gonna take all the loneliness, sit right down with the blues
I'm gonna give myself a party and serve old memories
Give myself a party, think of how it used to be
Remember all the happiness that we once knew
A few of your love letters, a photograph or two
A gift you gave on my birthday with words of I love you
There's a lots of things to think about when you're happy, feeling blue
So I'm gonna take all the loneliness, sit right down with the blues
I'm gonna give myself a party and serve old memories
Give myself a party, think of how it used to be
Remember all the happiness that we once knew
I'm gonna give myself a party, just me and the blues
In the song "Give Myself a Party," Don Gibson reflects on a past love and the memories that come with it. He recognizes that the relationship is over and that he must move on, but that doesn't erase the memories he has gathered from the time spent together. The first verse sets the tone for the song as Gibson acknowledges his bittersweet reality. He recognizes that he's not going to force anyone to love him and instead decides to embrace his emotions. In the chorus, he imagines throwing himself a “party” of sorts. Instead of inviting friends and family over, Gibson introduces what appears to be a solo celebration. He reflects on the joys of his past relationship and decides that he will experience this joy again with the blues.
The second verse highlights the memories that add to this metaphorical “party.” He describes looking at a few love letters, photographs and a gift given to him on his birthday with words of love from his past partner. The past relationship was clearly significant to him, and these memories are treasures he can hold onto in place of the real thing. The final chorus repeats the idea of the solo party, but this time Gibson explicitly states that it’s just him and the blues. The moment he shares with the blues helps him to process and cope with the end of his relationship.
Overall, "Give Myself a Party" is a bittersweet song that reflects on a past love and the memories that come with it. Gibson recognizes that he can't force the person to love him back, but instead decides to celebrate the happy moments of their relationship alone with the blues. The song reminds listeners that though life may not go as planned, holding onto good memories can bring joy in difficult times.
Line by Line Meaning
I've got a lot of memories to last me the rest of my life
I have a lot of memories with you that I will keep with me forever.
So if you don't want to love me, baby, that'll be all right
If you don't want to be with me, then that's okay, I accept it.
I'm gonna take all the lovin' that I have for you
I will take all the love I have for you.
Gonna take all the loneliness, sit right down with the blues
I will take all the loneliness and sit alone with my sadness.
A few of your love letters, a photograph or two
I have kept some of your love letters and photographs.
A gift you gave on my birthday with words of I love you
I still have the birthday gift you gave me with 'I love you' written on it.
There's a lots of things to think about when you're happy, feeling blue
There's a lot to think about when you're happy or sad.
I'm gonna give myself a party and serve old memories
I am going to throw a party for myself and remember the old memories.
Give myself a party, think of how it used to be
During my party, I will think about how things used to be.
Remember all the happiness that we once knew
I will remember all the happiness we once shared.
I'm gonna give myself a party, just me and the blues
I will have a party alone with my sadness and memories.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DON GIBSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind