Gary Puckett & The Union Gap (initially credited as The Union Gap featuring… Read Full Bio ↴Gary Puckett & The Union Gap (initially credited as The Union Gap featuring Gary Puckett) was an American pop rock group operating in the late 1960s. Their biggest hits were "Woman, Woman," "Young Girl," and "Lady Willpower." Singer Gary Puckett (born October 17, 1942, Hibbing, Minnesota) grew up in Yakima, Washington - close to the city of Union Gap - and Twin Falls, Idaho. He began playing guitar in his teens, and graduated from Twin Falls High School before attending college in San Diego, California. There, he quit college and played in several local bands before joining the Outcasts, a local hard rock group comprising bassist Kerry Chater (born August 7, 1945, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada),[1] keyboardist Gary 'Mutha' Withem (born August 22, 1946, San Diego), tenor saxophonist Dwight Bement (born December 28, 1945, San Diego), and drummer Paul Wheatbread (born February 8, 1946, San Diego).
In 1966, the band toured the Pacific Northwest without Wheatbread, who was recruited as the house drummer on the television series, Where the Action Is; he later rejoined the line-up. Under manager Dick Badger, the band were renamed The Union Gap in early 1967, and fitted themselves out with Union Army-style Civil War uniforms as a visual gimmick. They then recorded a demo, which was heard by CBS record producer and songwriter Jerry Fuller. Impressed by Puckett's baritone voice and the band's soft rock leanings, Fuller signed them to a recording contract with Columbia Records.
The band recorded their first single, "Woman Woman", a song written by Jim Glaser and Jimmy Payne, in August 1967. It became their first hit, reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and being certified as a gold disc. This was followed during the next two years by "Young Girl" (#2), "Lady Willpower" (#2), "Over You" (#7), and "Don't Give In To Him" (#15). All were produced by Fuller, who also wrote "Young Girl," "Lady Willpower," and "Over You". Although the band never had a #1 record in the United States, "Young Girl" reached #1 on the UK singles chart, and #6 when it was reissued in the UK six years later. Controversial at the time and later for its risqué lyrical references to underage romance, Allmusic labeled the groups lyrics "bizarrely pedophilic". "Young Girl" was the second million selling disc for the band, which it reached less than two months after issue; "Lady Willpower" and "Over You" also won gold discs. The band headlined at a White House reception for Prince Charles and at Disneyland in 1968, and were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1969, losing out to José Feliciano.
The band, however, wanted to write and produce its own material, and Puckett resented singing the power ballads written by Fuller. In 1969 Fuller prepared a 40-piece studio orchestra to record a new song he had written, but Puckett and the group refused to record it, the session was canceled, and Fuller never again worked with the group. The band returned to the charts with "This Girl Is a Woman Now," produced by Dick Glasser, but later releases failed to make the Billboard Top 40. Chater and Withem left the band; Bement took over on bass guitar and keyboardist, Barry McCoy, and horn player, Richard Gabriel, were added. In 1970 Puckett began recording as a solo act, but with limited success; the Union Gap remained his live backing band until they were dismissed following an appearance at the 1971 Orange County Fair. Puckett's recording contract was terminated one year later.

In 2009, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap were inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

I'm Losing You
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I try so hard, but I can't gain ground
To bring back a love that's crumpling down
There's so little time and I search my mind
To think of new ways of losing you
I'm losing you

I wake up each day and wear a new face
And make conversation that might suit your taste

Then I mention a few of the good times we knew
But each thing I say is abusing you
I'm losing you

I'll be anything that you want me to be
Like clay in your hands you can mold me
So bring back your love
Cause I find it so hard
To except what your eyes have told me

I whisper, "I love you"
And get no reply
And each time you kiss me
It feels like goodbye
Thought it's hard to believe
You want me to leave
What good can I do by refusing to?
I'm losing you

What good can I do?
I'm losing you

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Gary Puckett & The Union Gap's "I'm Losing You" depicts a man who is trying to salvage a disintegrating relationship. He is putting in every effort to save a love that is slowly falling apart. His desperation is apparent when he says "I try so hard, but I can't gain ground". Despite his efforts, he cannot stop the relationship from crumbling, and he knows he is losing her. The man is even willing to change himself to suit her and her preferences but nothing seems to be working.

The second half of the song talks about his realization that their relationship is ending. He tries to hold onto her, whispering "I love you" but it is to no avail. He is aware that the love is gone when every kiss feels like goodbye, yet he continues to cling on to what little they have left together. The heart-wrenching question he asks in the end, "What good can I do by refusing to? I'm losing you" shows the painful acceptance of his reality.

Line by Line Meaning

I try so hard, but I can't gain ground
Despite my best efforts, I am unable to prevent the collapse of our love.

To bring back a love that's crumpling down
I am struggling to revive our disintegrating relationship.

There's so little time and I search my mind
With time running out, I frantically explore my thoughts for any novel solutions to save us.

To think of new ways of losing you
Ironically, my attempts to find ways to fix our relationship feel like causes for further damage.

I'm losing you
I am losing you, despite my best efforts to save our love.

I wake up each day and wear a new face
Each day, I put on a facade to align with your preferences and interests.

And make conversation that might suit your taste
With every interaction, I try to tailor my speech to suit your preferred subjects and style of expression.

Then I mention a few of the good times we knew
I bring up fond memories of our time together.

But each thing I say is abusing you
My attempts to rekindle those memories seem to hurt and further push you away.

I'm losing you
Despite my attempts to be the best version of myself for you, you are still slipping away from me.

I'll be anything that you want me to be
I am willing to transform myself to accommodate your preferences and needs.

Like clay in your hands you can mold me
You have the power to shape me into whatever conforms to your desires.

So bring back your love
I am pleading with you to reciprocate and rekindle your love for me.

Cause I find it so hard
It is very challenging for me to accept that you don't feel romantic toward me anymore.

To except what your eyes have told me
Despite my reluctance, I have come to the realization that the way you look at me confirms that you don't love me anymore.

I whisper, "I love you"
I express my affection for you in an intimate whisper.

And get no reply
Your silence in the face of my expression of love hurts me deeply.

And each time you kiss me
When you kiss me, it feels like it's a goodbye kiss.

It feels like goodbye
The way you kiss me is an indicator that your heart is no longer in our relationship.

Thought it's hard to believe
Even though it's tough to accept what's happening between us...

You want me to leave
It's clear that you no longer want to keep this relationship going.

What good can I do by refusing to?
There's no point in me holding on if your heart is unwilling to stay. Refusing to give up will only cause more harm.

I'm losing you
Once again, I acknowledge that I am losing you, and there seems to be nothing I can do to stop it from happening.

What good can I do?
I am questioning whether there is a single positive thing I can do to salvage our crumbling relationship.

Contributed by Logan J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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