Bert Ambrose led one of the most popular dance bands in England during the … Read Full Bio ↴Bert Ambrose led one of the most popular dance bands in England during the 1920s and '30s. His group who featured arranger Sid Phillips on reeds, American clarinetist Danny Polo, trumpeter Max Goldberg, and trombonist Lew Davis as key soloists sometimes played very credible jazz. The hotter selections contrasted with the ballad vocals of Sam Browne. Some of his well-rounded highlights are "Out of Nowhere," "Singapore Sorrows," the heated "'Leven-Thirty Saturday Night," and "A Bench in the Park," with the band sometimes emulating Paul Whiteman and various American dance bands.

Symphony
Ambrose & His Orchestra Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Symphony
Symphony of love
Music from above
How does it start?
You walk in
And the song begins
Singing violins start in my heart
Then you speak

The melody seems to rise
Then you sigh
It sighs, and it softly dies
Symphony
Sing to me
Then we kiss
And it's clear to me
When you're near to me

You are my symphony
My symphony

Overall Meaning

These lyrics describe the experience of falling in love and how it feels like a beautiful symphony. The song begins with the singer expressing how love feels like a symphony, with music coming from above. The song starts when the person they are in love with walks in, and the sound of singing violins begins to resonate in their heart. The presence of the beloved is so powerful that it creates a symphony within the singer.

As the beloved starts to speak, the melody seems to rise, further enhancing the symphony. The singer can feel the emotions of their beloved through their sighs, which add depth to the symphony but eventually softly dies. The symphony of love is then urged to sing to the singer, as they are deeply moved by it. When they kiss, it becomes clear that the person they are with is their symphony. The beloved's presence creates a harmonious and beautiful experience, just like a symphony.

Line by Line Meaning

Symphony
Melodious expression

Symphony of love
Harmonious feelings of affection

Music from above
Divine inspiration

How does it start?
The beginning of this beautiful phenomenon

You walk in
When you enter my life

And the song begins
The enchanting melody commences

Singing violins start in my heart
My heart resonates with the sound of violins

Then you speak
When you express yourself

The melody seems to rise
The harmonious tune escalates

Then you sigh
When you let out a gentle exhale

It sighs, and it softly dies
The melody gradually fades away

Symphony
Melodious expression

Sing to me
Let the harmonies resonate with me

Then we kiss
When our lips meet

And it's clear to me
It becomes evident

When you're near to me
In your proximity

You are my symphony
You are the embodiment of melodious expression in my life

My symphony
Melodious expression

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GALT MACDERMOTT, JOHN GUARE

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Comments from YouTube:

Henry Parsons

10y↑19

The Rolls-Royce of British dance bands, well up to standard here! The first British dance band 78 I bought at age 17 was a 1930 Ambrose HMV, "When A Woman Loves A Man" b/w "Moanin' For You", a damaged copy that I still felt lucky to have. His 1927-1932 records are hard to top for their sophistication and quality. "With My Guitar And You" remains a particular favorite. Great selection and fantastic sound quality.

Panachord

10y↑5

"Moanin' For You" is another classic recording. I first heard that and "Free And Easy" on a double album LP reissue. The Ambrose Orchestra of this period was just a perfect combination with arrangements far in advance of any other contemporary and the best musicians around.

Peter Taylor

Somewhere, in the lists of music on You Tube, I saw the title Moanin' for You. It's here somewhere. You might like to find it.

Colin Luckens

Totally agree with you man - the "creme de la creme" of British Dance Bands!!❤️❤️❤️....I also much prefer their EARLY recordings - precisely from that period (1929) - 1932👍👍👍

Mark Thompson

3y↑2

I have to echo what others have said here. The sound quality is sublime (I think most titles were recorded at Small Queens Hall), and both the playing and the arrangements are touched with genius.. "With my Guitar" just edges it, with the tubular bells played by Lew himself.

Mosspower Mobile

6y↑13

0:20 — The "Free and Easy"
3:15 — A Bench In The Park
6:15 — With My Guitar And You
9:30 — Beware Of Love
12:32 — Lazy Lou'siana Moon
15:51 — Shoo The Hoodoo Away

Peter Hendriksma

10y↑5

I've listened to this clip several times just this week and I keep being amazed. A) the sound quality is superb, better than anything from the period, B) Ammy's band must have been the hardest swinging dance band of the world in this period. If not the best, it surely was the tightest sounding one.

Gregory May

9y↑10

I really appreciate all the work you do to get these perfectly sounding videos together! With just one click, you are entertained for the length of a little album! Thanks!

Panachord

9y↑2

And your comment is very much appreciated too. Thanks!

Peter Taylor

2y↑1

@Panachord He's absolutely right and I thank you as well. Life changed when I discovered this.

Peter Hendriksma

10y↑6

The Ambrose band of the early '30s was easily the most swinging dance orchestra in the world. I bought each and every HMV disc I could find. Those - mostly Lew Stone - arrangements are superb, leaving loads of room for jazz obbligatos. I do like the Henderson and Carter arrangements, but these are the perfect combination of both suave and incredibly hot music. Not even Ray Noble could come close.

Paul Lindemeyer

7y↑1

It was possible because the British music industry was healthier than that in America. With the depression over here they could take no chances, especially on records. It's amazing so many good ones got made anyway, but certainly the Ambrose brand of intensity was off limits in America.

Jourwalis

2y↑4

Superb sound quality from 1930, and with "portable" recording equipment transported to the May Fair Hotel. I wonder how bulky these recording apparatus must have been in the beginning of the 30s. How many men were there to carry it all...

TheRAFfc

7y↑10

I LIVED THOSE DAYS AND SO MISS THEM THANK YOU FOR SHARING THEM HERE , PLEASE KEEP IT UP :):):)

Sue Holden

8y↑55

Thank you so much for all the wonderful music you put on here. My old mother (with dementia) is transported back to her youth and sings along and moves her feet when she relives her dancing days. It's amazing how she remembers the words to so many songs. The music brings back all sorts of memories for her and we have a lovely time as she regales me with her stories. God bless you. Your time and trouble means more than you know.

Panachord

8y↑18

+Sue Holden I don't think anyone has left a comment as special to me as this. I am so pleased that these recordings can be of such benefit. My mother suffered from senile dementia in her final years, and it was tough, as you know, dealing with the loss, mentally, of a parent.

Sue Holden

8y↑12

+Panachord Yes it's tough as the Mum We knew slowly fades. But we can share the music together. We had dementia training at work (a GP Practice) In a short film a lady in her 50's with early onset dementia told us that when she listens to music from her youth.....well, I'll quote her as I'll never forget it. She said "I'm not remembering or trying to conjure up memories, I'm not re-living or imagining. I'm really there again in the dance hall. It's happening again and I can see it and smell it and touch things and I'm in it all over again." Isn't that wonderful! And that's where Mum must be as she sways from side to side with her eyes closed and a smile on her face.

Peter Taylor

7y↑6

I just read your comment. That's wonderful and it shows that underneath dementia, there's another side to the brain which is just as ever. In fact, they should study it. With music/songs that you hear in your youth, you can forget them with time. Then something stirs, you hear it again and you remember it just as you did. It's imprinted itself into her dna.

Peter Taylor

7y↑2

It says Peter but I'm not a Peter, I'm a Jan. psst...... It's true, it's not consciously remembering either, it's actually reliving. And, I've had dementia experience a lot in my family, from first hand.

Peter Taylor

7y↑4

Good for her! She may not be with you now, but I hope it gave her as much pleasure as it does us. More, perhaps, if she knew it before.

4 More Replies...

Eduardo Vinuesa

1y↑3

Where can I found the lyrics of these relaxing romantic, rhythmic sounds. Their sounds, after so many years, its excellent. Saludos desde Texas.

Jourwalis

2y↑2

You have made fantastic good restorations and transcriptions of these records!

Paal

10y↑2

A wonderful selection of Ambrose records! Thanks for posting.

Bruno Fantoni filho

5y↑1

Eu devo ter tido uma vida anterior ao ano de 1945 pois o meu apego pelas músicas antigas é forte demais

Edward Gunyo

49w↑1

Hope everyone is still alive, love the song. Great work. Nothing heard for 7 years, keep it up. Best Regards

John B Innes

8y↑4

Hi Panachord. I fully agree, such lovely melodies. It is a lovely balmy autumn Saturday night here in Wellington and your channel just fits the bill perfectly. keep the music coming.

The Rustic Aztec

6y↑2

Thank you so much for this beautiful music!

Barry Liknaitzky

Fantastic Ambrose! Thank you for this.

Trombonology Erstwhile

10y↑2

Enchanting, uplifting set -- gems all, with "The Free and Easy," "A Bench in the Park," and "Beware of Love" being standouts for me.

Panachord

10y↑2

It has taken me a long time to get a copy of "A Bench In The Park", and it even surpasses the Whiteman version in my opinion.

Jourwalis

5y↑6

"With my guitar...." is awesome!

Radiogram & Gramophone toons

5y↑3

I love the Ambrose recordings

Peter Hendriksma

10y↑3

David Glowacki This is is so superb.I actually prefer the earlier Browne recordings, because he still had that wonderful flexibility. He could sing anything between low baritone to high tenor. Bowlly had a typical 'light' voice, though he could also sing bass lines, but Browne had much more depth.

John B Innes

8y↑2

This is just so gorgeous. I play this music every week. Just enjoy Tehwoody

nicolas olmos olmos

7y↑4

VERY HIGH- GRADE MUSICIANSHIP !! OF THIS ORCHESTRA THAT SHOWS THE GREAT
UNFORGETTABLE TUNES OF THAT YEARS.
THANKS VERY MUCH Panachord FOR SHARING

Peter Hendriksma

10y↑4

As much as I like American bands (and Freddy Rich's in particular) of the period. Ammie is very much in a class of his own. "A Bench In The Park' is essentially a sweet song, but in this arrangement it is superbly hot. As I've written before any, and I really mean any, Ambrose on HMV is worth buying. superb arrangements and also superbly recorded. Incredible to think that these sides were recorded using just one microphone. The internal balance is perfect, one can hear the drummer throughout the whole number, fcuk you can even hear him switching from brushes to drumsticks and back again. Something I've never heard on an American record of the same period. Payne's discs of that period are quite good, but compared to these they sound quite poorly.

Panachord

10y↑3

Yes, the Ambrose Orchestra was quite unique at that time. I always picture these musicians recording with rather self-satisfied looks on their faces as they must have known just how superb they were. Ambrose at the time had the best rhythm section - subtle presence, steady, and fine tempos. "A Bench In The Park" is one of my favourites.

Peter Hendriksma

10y↑2

Peter, I fully agree with you. These sides are amongst the best recorded ones I've ever heard. And having 3,000+ 78s I've listened to a lot. These early 30s HMV's are the best ones I've ever heard, and that includes almost if not all 40s and 50s discs. The sound is incredibly warm and crystal clear. Too bad HMV records had so much surface noise, but with modern PC utilities one can get rid of most of that. Something analog filters couldn't do.

Paul Lindemeyer

7y↑1

Even at their best Freddie Rich's band couldn''t have gotten away with this beat. It wasn't American style - over here the banjo had to carry the beat, and drums were mostly for accents.

antonio campagnefilho

3y↑2

lindas cançoes parabens

antonio campagnefilho

3y↑1

obrigada

Tadeo de Wiesent

¡¡¡Hermoso!!!
¡¡¡Beautiful!!!
👍👍👍👌👌👌👏👏👏👏👏👏👏🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Jourwalis

5y↑1

Fantastic music!

Main Account

5y↑2

Delightful melodies

Bruno Fantoni filho

5y↑2

delicioso de se ouvir, obrigado Panachord

Panachord

5y↑2

Meu prazer enorme!

Paul Herring

5y↑2

Thanks Panachord. Always have good posts. These British dance bands of the 30s were, in my view, untouchable. My personal favourite is/was Carroll Gibbons and the Savoy Hotel Orpheans - sweetest sound of all. Superb all of them though.

antonio campagnmefilho

4y↑1

que orquestras lindas de houvir

NewHampshireBoy

8y↑2

Nice! I wonder how you get such great audio? You must be using very high end equipment!

Panachord

8y↑1

+NewHampshireBoy Not "high end" at all. An audio-technica deck, MAGIX Audio Cleaning Lab, and a decent stylus

Rebecca

35w

Yes thank you for the lovely music. ❤

dancebandleader

8y↑5

Such sparkling sound for it's age. This must have been the Abbey Road studio. Too bad Ambrose didn't stay with HMV.

Alex McKenna

6y↑1

It was 2 years before Abbey Road opened. Recorded at the Small Queens Hall.

Alfresten

7y↑2

Meraviglioso!

Arles Páez

8y↑2

MUY linda MUSICA, is very beautiful

Daniel Collins

48w

LOVE Ambrose and his Orchestra

Janette Walker

9y↑7

Great entertainment for me today - superb music - sun dappled outlook - thanks for an afternoon with Sam Browne.

John Waud

6y↑3

Good bands great music what more do you wont !!!!

phredl

10y↑3

"The Free And Easy" Great recording! I'll have to keep an eye out for this one.

Panachord

10y↑3

If you watched this in HD and had a chance to read the Melody Maker review on the video, you can see it was highly rated on its release too.

MSYAGMONTREAL

5y↑3

Evergreen music!

patrickdcyau

TRACK TIMING:
00:20 [1] The "Free And Easy" -- Ambrose & His Orchestra, vocal by Sam Browne
03:17 [2] A Bench In The Park -- Ambrose & His Orchestra, vocal by Sam Browne
06:18 [3] With My Guitar And You -- Ambrose & His Orchestra, vocal by Sam Browne
09:31 [4] Beware Of Love -- Ambrose & His Orchestra, vocal by Sam Browne
12:35 [5] Lazy Lou'siana Moon -- Ambrose & His Orchestra, vocal by Sam Browne
15:51 [6] Shoo The Hoodoo Away - Ambrose & His Orchestra, vocal by Sam Browne & Ella Logan

David Glowacki

10y↑9

This version of Free and Easy is utterly sublime and cannot be matched.The arrangement by lew Stone is full of wonderful subtleties that makes you want to listen again and again.My favourite Sam Browne vocals are those early 30s ones.Though technically inferior to his later 30s (deeper crooning style) l like the slightly high pitched and softer vocals of this period.

Panachord

10y↑3

Agreed! I think the arrangements Lew produced for Ambrose were amongst his finest work.

Gennettor

The Ben Selvin version of "The Free And Easy" is rather more swinging, especially the non-vocal take.

Kevin Cruz

4y↑3

Interesting, Free & Easy has a good swing to it. Just a little ahead of it's time.

roybo1930

10y↑3

AMBROSE IS JUST TOO AWESOME! Do You have "Monin` For You"? GREAT RECORD! Sam Brown vocals with the most sultry vocal he has ever done!

Panachord

9y↑3

Sadly I don't have the 78 of "Moanin' For You"! It's a great performance too.

roybo1930

8y↑3

Boy is it EVER! Same Browne`s vocal on this record is too die for! He almost becomes a Blues Singer!

John B Innes

8y↑2

Actually our national radio does play this music often on Saturday evenings.

John B Innes

8y↑5

This just perfect music for a Saturday Night accompanied by a glass of something red and some nice company!

Panachord

8y↑2

+John B Innes Long gone are the times when you could have tuned into the BBC at 10.30pm on a Saturday night and listened to almost 90 minutes of music of this incredible standard. Thank goodness we have these recordings...

The Hooley's

10y↑3

This is inspired music making! very satisfying collection.

pmartel11

8y↑3

The transfer is STUNNING, what did you use, I'm listening on headphones with a Focusrite Scarlett ADC from my Macbook Pro and headphones. I hear some digital artifacting, but WOW, what detail and musicality

Panachord

8y↑1

+pmartel11 Thanks! A good stylus and inexpensive software...and a superb orchestra!

Richard Moon

8y↑2

Thanks again for this wonderful treat.

Mark Fisher

5y↑3

Beautiful :-) with "My Guitar and You" from Ambrose and His musicians You make me truly happy :-) fa'afetai lava, I thank You very much !
Mark

Panachord

5y↑2

My pleasure!

Peter Schuurhof

7y↑2

Superb music compilation.
I should nearly say, as always by Panachord...

JasonJason210

2y↑1

Nice recordings and transfers. Thanks.

Eduardo Vallejo

2y↑1

Good music, very wonderfull. So listen very good.

Radiogram & Gramophone toons

2y↑1

My mum said that Ambrose had all the best musicians

Michael Miller

6y↑3

9:30 is beautiful but spooky. Perhaps a movie with the same format of as "the shining" can have this song as the end credits song, similarly to the shining's theme "midnight the stars and you" by Al Bowlly

Michael Law

10y↑3

Superb selection - in great sound, thank you. Any chance of posting the wonderfully slinky "When a Woman Loves a Man"?

Panachord

10y↑3

Not in my collection....yet!

roybo1930

10y↑3

OOOOOH! I BET THAT RECORD IS JUST WONDERFUL!!! I can imagine what it would sound like! Who Vocals?

François Schelfaut

8y↑5

Great dance music from times you could still move around the floor with a pretty girl in your arms

Julia Pollitt

5y↑2

Fantastic

Bob Probert

40w

It's the first time I heard that and I like it. I was looking for old tunes to play to Warthunder.

Morning Wood Productions

8y↑4

Im 18 and i love this type of music. Am i going crazy?

Panachord

8y↑2

+TehWoody Productions No, you just have good taste :-)

Trish Traum

8y↑2

+TehWoody Productions Nope, that's great ! =D I'm 20 and I love too !

NewHampshireBoy

8y↑2

+TehWoody Productions Don't worry, just have fun!

dancebandleader

8y↑2

+TehWoody Productions Speaking as a retired bandleader, I'd say you have good taste, when I was 18 I liked it too. I'm 72 now, and it was old then,
but still good. Too bad the current what we used to call top 40 style is so juvenile from a musical standpoint. But that situation has been true for years. Anybody care to guess why some of us yesterday and today have
given up on rock stars coming up with anything musical that lasts? Insistence on quality musicianship and creativity is nor elitist. Thanks to Youtube, younger smart people are hearing vintage music, and many have found they like it. Bravo.

Peter Taylor

7y↑2

You're definitely not. You're appreciating sounds and music long before you were born and what's wrong with that?

1 More Replies...

우정식

2y↑2

very good ~~~~!!

Angela Johnson

3y↑1

🌇 VERY. BEAUTIFUL. MELODY. .💗 🧸 💗 AND. THANK. - YOU. ❣,❣,❣ , SO. VERY MUCH. 👏 🥰. FOR. THESE. VERY. WONDERFUL. SONGS. 🎵, 💗,🎶, 💗,🎵 ,💗,🎶,💗, 🎵, 💗, 🎶 ,💗,🎵,💗,🎶,💗,🎵,,💗

Mohammed Hussein

49w

Hi my name is Mohammad uk London I think Ambrose music is Fantastic. I only listen tO music from the 1920s and the 1930s There has been any music that can compare with it For Style and the recordING SO Great as if just been Recorded

phredl

10y↑2

Thanks for pointing that out Panachord. Makes me feel that I might actually know what I'm talking about.lol

Main Account

4y↑4

Superlative

Jourwalis

3y↑3

I suppose that it is the Hall that is "small", and not the Queen!

Panachord

3y↑2

Yes 😁

Mohammed Hussein

49w

😊😊❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ all😊British Dance Music 😊of the 1920 S and 1930 s was so Cool IAM Adicted to 😊😊😊all Day long but we must not forget that some of the dance Band members and leaders came from America but with a softer sound AND I MUST Not Forget Al Bowle

Chuck Berger

7y↑2

Does anyone remember a vocalist/band singer, Marjorie Kingsley? I must be going back about 75 years ago.

Panachord

7y↑3

Marjorie was with Harry Roy's band from 1940 until at least 1943. After the war she married an American, and moved to the USA.

Chuck Berger

7y↑2

Thanks, for the info. My dad who played the sax in the 1930's and early 40's remembered her and mentioned her quite a few times.

Panachord

7y↑2

She was an excellent singer.

Jl Smith

8y↑2

THE FIRST SONG FREE AN EASY A PRECURSOR TO WESTERN SWING!!!!!!!!!!!

Jourwalis

5y↑1

Shouldn´t it be "The Queens small Hall"?

Jourwalis

5y↑3

What was his name more than "Ambrose"?

RICHARD LAINE

2y↑1

His name was BERT Ambrose ; he used his surname on records and for personal appearances. Now I have determined that I'm going to look up Ambrose on Wikipedia for some more information.