Black was born as Solomon Schwartz on 14 June 1913 in Whitechapel, England. His parents were Polish and Romanian Jews. He began piano lessons at the age of seven. He was aged only 12 when his first composition was broadcast on BBC Radio and continued his early success by winning a Melody Maker arranging competition aged 15.
In the early 1930s he was employed as a jazz player and composer and had worked with Howard Jacobs, Joe Orlando, Lew Stone, Maurice Winnick and Teddy Joyce by the time he joined Harry Roy in 1936. He had also broadcast and recorded with several American musicians, including jazz saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, who had first heard Black on late night radio shows with Lew Stone's band. When the two eventually met in London, the reviewer Edgar Jackson suggested they record together, and a notable collaboration is a duet version of Honeysuckle Rose.
During World War II, Black joined the Royal Air Force, and became involved in managing the entertainment of servicemen based at Wolverhampton. In 1944 he was appointed conductor of the BBC Dance Orchestra, and remained in the job for almost nine years, broadcasting as many as six nights a week.
By this time he had also begun recording under his own name for Decca. Now well involved with the film industry, he went on to compose, arrange and direct music for about 200 more films, notably after being appointed music director at Elstree Studios in 1958. He was also principal conductor of the Associated British Picture Corporation Orchestra and musical director composer of that organisation from 1958-1963.
Stanley Black's radio work kept him in contact with a large listening audience through his incidental music for shows such as Much Binding in the Marsh and the first two series of The Goon Show. He later presented his own programmes on radio and television, including Black Magic and The Marvellous World of Stanley Black.
In the early 1950s he regularly topped the Melody Maker lists of the most-heard musicians on radio. He was chosen to be included on Decca's first release of long-playing records in the UK in June 1950. This enabled him to continue his conducting, arranging and performing and resulted in a large number of albums. He was particularly popular in United States, as evidenced by his inclusion in the Billboard best-sellers lists.
During his life, he conducted many of Britain's major orchestras, and until the 1990s he was still directing regular broadcast sessions at the BBC studios, despite the onset of deafness in later life.
Stanley Black is remembered for writing numerous scores for radio, television and cinema, including the theme-tune for The Goon Show.
Other films he composed scores for include Laughter in Paradise (1951), The Naked Truth (1957), Blood of the Vampire (1958), Too Many Crooks (1958), The Long and the Short and the Tall (1961), West 11 (1963), The System (1964), Crossplot (1969), and the Cliff Richard musicals The Young Ones (1961) and his orchestral backing for Richard's follow up, Summer Holiday (1962), which won him an Ivor Novello Award. His work also became familiar to millions of cinema audiences as a consequence of his theme tune and music library for Pathé News, written in 1960.
He also recorded many classical works, including collections of Tchaikovsky and George Gershwin. In 1965 he won a Gramophone Award for his version of Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol. In addition, he arranged and conducted many commercially successful albums on LP and later CD like Tropical Moonlight, Cuban Moonlight, Black Magic, and series of Film Spectacular and Broadway Spectacular for Decca Records.
Don't Ever Leave Me
Stanley Black Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now that you're here
Here is where you belong...
Everyth... er...
And then there were none
Hun, you know...
I've always wanted the chance
To recite some high-tech poetry
Ah, i like the sound
Alone makes
Being alone
Ends the ticket
One' s company
Two's a crowd
I only wish one of you are here with me
To see how great it is
I was meant for me...
I stroll the lane together...
Pick to me upon my knee...
I'll go my way by myself
It's how the comedy ends
I'll have to deny myself
Love and laughter and friend
I'll try to apply myself
And teach my heart how to sing
I'll go my way by myself
Like a bird on the wing
I'll face the unknown
I'll build the world of my own
No one knows better than i myself
I'm by myself
I'm by myself
I'm by myself
Alone
Hear my voice
Through the dim
Hear the waves on your skin
Like a call from within
Come back to me
Hear my voice where you are
Take a train steal a car
Half afraid, never stop
Have you gone to the moon
Or the corner saloon
Come by mail...rail...c.o.d...xwz
It will be s.o.b.
S.o.b!
Come in pain or in joy
As a girl or a boy
In a bag or a trunk
In a hose or a drunk
In the flora or faun
Come back to me
Come back to me
Come back to me
To me come back
To me...
Ooh! wow!
The lyrics of "Don't Ever Leave Me" by Stanley Black & The Kingsway Promenade Orchestra are quite complex and seem to revolve around the theme of loneliness and the desire to be with someone. The song is divided into three parts, and the first part talks about not wanting the person to leave now that they are here because this is where they belong. There is also the line "And then there were none", which seems to suggest that being alone is not desirable. The singer then expresses a desire to recite some high-tech poetry, possibly indicating a desire to impress the person and share something unique with them.
The second part of the song seems to reflect on the idea that being alone is not so bad either. The line "I only wish one of you are here with me" suggests that the singer is still longing for company, but the following lines seem to contradict this. The line "Being alone ends the ticket" suggests that there is some satisfaction in being alone, and the singer seems to be enjoying the sound of being alone.
The last part of the song seems to reflect on the idea that the singer must go their own way and build a world of their own. They must deny themselves love and laughter and friend, try to apply themselves, and teach their heart how to sing. The line "I'll go my way by myself like a bird on the wing" seems to suggest that they are ready to face the unknown and fly solo.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't ever leave me
Please never go away from me
Now that you're here
Now that you are with me
Here is where you belong...
This is where you should always stay
Everyth... er...
Everything around us
And then there were none
And now we are all alone
Hun, you know...
Honey, you understand
I've always wanted the chance
I have always desired the opportunity
To recite some high-tech poetry
To read some advanced poetry
Everyone's a critic
Everybody is a judge
Ah, i like the sound
I enjoy the noise
Alone makes
Solitude produces
Being alone
To be by oneself
Ends the ticket
Where the journey ends
One's company
Being alone is okay
Two's a crowd
Two people can be too much
I only wish one of you are here with me
I desire only one person to be with me
To see how great it is
To experience how amazing it feels
I was meant for me...
I was intended for myself
I stroll the lane together...
I walk along the road with myself
Pick to me upon my knee...
Sit with me by my side
I'll go my way by myself
I will continue my journey alone
It's how the comedy ends
This is how the amusing story concludes
I'll have to deny myself
I must refuse myself
Love and laughter and friend
Affection, joy, and companionship
I'll try to apply myself
I will attempt to focus on myself
And teach my heart how to sing
And train my heart to express itself
Like a bird on the wing
Like a bird flying in the sky
I'll face the unknown
I will confront what is yet to come
I'll build the world of my own
I will create my own universe
No one knows better than i myself
No one understands me better than I
I'm by myself
I am all alone
Alone
Lonely
Hear my voice
Listen to me speak
Through the dim
In the darkness
Hear the waves on your skin
Feel the ocean waves touching your skin
Like a call from within
Like a cry from the heart
Come back to me
Return to me
Hear my voice where you are
Listen to me wherever you may be
Take a train steal a car
Travel to me however you can
Half afraid, never stop
Half scared, don't stop
Have you gone to the moon
Have you traveled far away
Or the corner saloon
Or just down to the bar
Come by mail...rail...c.o.d...xwz
Come by any means necessary
It will be s.o.b.
It will be a terrible situation
Come in pain or in joy
Come no matter what you may feel
As a girl or a boy
Regardless of your gender
In a bag or a trunk
In luggage or in storage
In a hose or a drunk
In a state of hilarity or inebriation
In the flora or faun
In the plant life or animal life
To me come back
Return to me
Ooh! wow!
Expressing surprise and excitement
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Hammerstein, Kern
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind