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 Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I don't know what to do with myself
Planning everything for two
Doing everything with you
And now that we're through
I just don't know what to do
I just don't know what to do with myself
I don't know what to do with myself
Parties make me feel as bad
Cause I'm not with you
I just don't know what to do
Like a summer rose
Needs the sun and rain
I need your sweet love
To beat love away
Well I don't know what to do with myself
Just don't know what to do with myself
Planning everything for two
Doing everything with you
And now that we're through
I just don't know what to do
Like a summer rose
Needs the sun and rain
I need your sweet love
To beat love away
I just don't know what to do with myself
Just don't know what to do with myself
Just don't know what to do with myself
I don't know what to do with myself
The lyrics of Gary Puckett & The Union Gap's “I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself” speak of the agony of heartbreak and the uncomfortable feeling of not knowing what to do with oneself after a painful separation. The singer is lost, struggling to come to terms with the sudden emptiness in his life, and the loneliness that arises from being accustomed to doing everything with his former partner. The first stanza talks about how he planned everything for two and did everything with his partner, but now that they are separated, he is unsure of what to do with himself.
In the second stanza, he says that nothing seems to make him happy anymore. He used to like watching movies, but now they only make him feel sad. Even going to parties reminds him of his former partner and only makes him feel worse. The chorus repeats the fact that he is lost and doesn't know what to do with himself. He likens himself to a summer rose that needs the sun and rain to flourish, but now that his partner is not with him, he needs their love to blossom and grow.
Overall, the song captures the feeling of heartbreak and the aftermath that comes with it. There is a sense of lost identity and uncertainty that anyone who has gone through a breakup can relate to.
Line by Line Meaning
I just don't know what to do with myself
Feeling lost and directionless without the person they had been planning and doing everything with
I don't know what to do with myself
Continuing to express feeling lost and directionless without their former partner
Planning everything for two
Having made plans and decisions together as a couple
Doing everything with you
Having done activities and daily tasks with their partner
And now that we're through
Acknowledging the end of their relationship
Movies only make me sad
Movies no longer bring enjoyment, but rather sadness as they remind them of their ex-partner
Parties make me feel as bad
Social gatherings also elicit negative emotions as they are no longer shared with their former partner
Cause I'm not with you
Confirming that their negative emotions are due to the absence of their former partner
Like a summer rose
Comparing their need for their former partner's love and presence to a rose's need for sunlight and water
Needs the sun and rain
Further elaborating on the metaphor, emphasizing the necessity of love and attention
I need your sweet love
Expressing the deep desire for their former partner's love and affection
To beat love away
Implying that their former partner's love is necessary to get over their breakup
Just don't know what to do with myself
Reiterating their continued sense of confusion and aimlessness
Contributed by Chloe V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Cheryl Schurlknight
on No One Really Knows
What are the lyrics to Gary’s song... no one really knows?
Louise Reiter
on I'm Just a Man
Get out and stretch your legs...