GARY PUCKETT and the UNION GAP was one of the most successful musical group… Read Full Bio ↴GARY PUCKETT and the UNION GAP was one of the most successful musical groups of the sixties. Gary's unmistakable signature voice garnered six consecutive gold records and top ten Billboard hits with the following titles:

"YOUNG GIRL"
"WOMAN WOMAN"
"LADY WILLPOWER"
"OVER YOU"
"THIS GIRL IS A WOMAN NOW"
"KEEP THE CUSTOMER SATISFIED"
"DON'T GIVE IN TO HIM"
"HOME"

GARY PUCKETT has performed on more than thirty network television shows and prime time specials during his career, even adding a command performance for the President and Prince Charles at the White House. The Union Gap disbanded in the seventies. In 1974, "Young Girl" was reissued in England where it received a silver record award for attaining a top five position on the pop charts, several years after its initial release.

Gary continues to tour nationally & internationally, has a new album out now, "GARY PUCKETT - LIVE", and has recently released his first ever Chrismas CD, entitled "At Christmas".

The Common Cold
Gary Puckett Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You gave me a thrill
Lighting a fire in my soul
Now, I feel a chill deep inside
For you took back the warmth of your love
And left me cold

And as I remember
The last burning ember

I just can't believe it has died

My arms are shaking for you they are aching to hold
I can't endure it please come back and cure this common cold

While wrapped up in dreams I live with you in warm memories
Lost in a tiny capsule of time
And then I feel the sun waking me up
And making me freeze
As time slowly passes
Alone in the ashes
Without you to clear up my mind

My arms are shaking for you they are aching to hold
I can't endure it please come back and cure this common cold

And as I remember
The last burning ember
I just can't believe it has died

My arms are shaking for you they are aching to hold
I can't endure it please come back and cure this common cold

Overall Meaning

Gary Puckett’s “The Common Cold” is a lamentation for lost love. At first, the singer reminisces about how his lover once gave him a thrill and lit a fire in his soul. However, things have changed now and he feels a deep chill inside him. The warmth of love withheld from him has left him feeling cold. In his mind, the last burning ember of their love has died and he can’t understand why.

The singer imagines himself wrapped up in dreams with his lover in warm memories. It is a tiny capsule of time that he has lost, and he wants it back dearly. However, as the time passes without his lover, he is gradually engulfed in loneliness and despair. He feels as if he is stuck in ashes and unable to clear his mind without his lover’s help. The singer’s arms are shaking, and they are aching to hold his lover. He can’t endure the pain of separation from her anymore and begs her to cure the “common cold” that afflicts him.

Overall, the song is a poignant expression of lost love and the emptiness that it leaves behind in our hearts. The singer’s description of his feelings is vivid and metaphorical, and anyone who has experienced the pain of separation can relate to it.

Line by Line Meaning

You gave me a thrill
You brought joy and excitement into my life

Lighting a fire in my soul
You ignited a passion within me

Now, I feel a chill deep inside
I feel empty and cold inside without your love

For you took back the warmth of your love
You withdrew the love that made me feel alive

And left me cold
You left me feeling alone and empty

And as I remember
As I reminisce

The last burning ember
The last hint of our former love

I just can't believe it has died
I can't accept that our love is over

My arms are shaking for you they are aching to hold
I long to hold you in my arms and feel your love again

I can't endure it please come back and cure this common cold
I can't go on like this, please come back and make me feel warm and loved again

While wrapped up in dreams I live with you in warm memories
I find solace in my memories of our happy times together