Lyrics For How Much I Feel By Ambrosia - Songfacts

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How Much I Feelby Ambrosia

Album: Life Beyond L.A. (1978)Charted: 3 License This Song  songfacts ®

• I don't know how this whole business startedOf you thinkin' that I have been untrueBut if you think that we'd be better partedIt's gonna hurt me, but I'll break away from youWell, just give me the sign and I will be gone, yeah(That's how much I feel) feel for you, baby(How much I need) well I need your touch(How much I live) I live for your lovingThat's how much (that's how much)That's how much, that's how muchI sleep alone, and late at night I'm dreamin'Of the togetherness that seems to be leaving meI'd give it all and then I'd give some moreIf you would only love me like you had beforeWell, take hold of my hand and all will be forgiven, yeah(That's how much I feel) feel for you, baby(How much I need) I need your touch(How much I live) I live for your loving(That's how much) that's how muchThat's how much, that's how muchSo you try (try), try to stay in the middleAnd then you cry (cry), well you cry just a littleThen you both realizeJust how foolish you've beenAnd you try to make amendsBut you're better off as friends'Cause that's how much (that's how much)That's how much, that's how muchHow's your life been goin' on?I've got a wife now, years we've been goin' strongOh, no, there's just something that I've got to saySometimes when we make loveI still can see your faceOoh, just try to recallWhen we were as one, yeah(That's how much I feel) feel for you, baby(How much I need) I need your touch(How much I live) I live for your lovingThat's how much Writer/s: David Pack Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

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Comments: 42

• Jeff from BostonIn a live performance on late night TV in 2011, David Pack sang the alternate lyrics "I will be forgiven" and "how foolish we've been." That suggests that the blame for the relationship breaking up was more even, which is a perspective you might expect from the benefit of almost 50 years more life experience.Also, for those of you hung up on the "I still see your face" line: How many couples do you think fantasize about someone other than their partner when they have sex? It's not ideal for sure, but it's hardly a sign of an unhealthy marriage. Also keep in mind that a lot of songs from that time period had a very cavalier attitude toward fidelity in relationships.
• B. Moore from NjI dunno as I apparently have a whole different kinda take about what's being expressed by the guy in this song! I'm not discounting why others have drawn the majority opinion that in fact he didn't cheat but I guess felt he couldn't remain in the relationship if she didn't trust him enuf (?)I just found several of his pleas somewhat shallow and possibly insincere!Firstly, he apparently claims not to even understand how this whole thing started (?) Really- how about asking her for starters (?) Did someone else say something to her possibly about seeing the guy w/ another woman (?) Is this aledged affair now the subject of gossip (?) Is she also dealing with public humiliation as well as fear and maybe imminent abandonment (?)Secondly, for someone who is still sexually fantasizing about her years later, he seemed to be pretty quick on the draw to agree to breaking up (?) If his love was soo intense and loving, why didn't he seem to make more of an effort to stay together (?)Later on he claims to just tryin to keep it in the middle (?) What does that mean exactly(?) Is he subtlety admitting to having strayed once or perhaps more (?)When he says you both realize how foolish you've been does that mean that she falsely accused you of cheating and although you're prepared to forgive her, she still doesn't trust you (?)No, something is amiss here and if I loved somebody that much I would fight for her and if I cheated even just once I would beg her to forgive me and never give her cause to regret it!!! No, i think you probably cheated but your pride wouldn't let you admit it- you'd rather end the relationship with "the love of your life, then get really honest- which is why she wouldn't take you back and you didn't fight for her (!?)Anyway, i guess like an exercise in "fan fiction" a lotta folks may think im nutz, but these questions always came up when. I really listened to the lyrics!!! They just didn't make any honest sense to me!!!Tx,B. Moore
• Bart from Litchfield CtNobody mentions "so you try to stay in the middle " bridge! In the middle of whom? " So if we both realize just how foolish youve been"-sounds like she realizes that he didn't cheat. But, at that point it's too late
• Lady Luck from Boston, MaThe lyrics to this song are twisted! As much as it the voice and music sound nice, I cant get over the fact that while he's banging his new wife he is thinking of and missing his old girlfriend. How twisted is that????? SICK! There is no woman on this planet who wants her man to be picturing someone other chick's face while he's banging her.
• Charbs1966 from MassachusettsThe song starts off “LOOK, I don’t know how this whole business started…”
• Steve From La from Los AngelesI think, as in all good songs, the writer leaves some ambiguity for the listener. And each listener has their own take on what went down. It's amazing that David Pack wrote this at age 25 - quite wise beyond his years to be able to pen such rich, mature lyrics, usually gained from a much longer and deeper life experience of lost loves, kids, marriage, relationship ups/downs, etc. My take is that this song is a letter to his love years later after he's married someone new and he's looking back on the situation. To me, it was just a misunderstanding and he loves her so much ("that's how much") that he's allowing her to part ways with him if that's what's in her heart. I think they've been arguing ("this whole business") for awhile and he's probably worn out -- hence, acquiescing to allow her to split if that's her choice. In the second verse, it clearly was her choice to leave, so he sleeps alone now (indicating that he didn't cheat (or it was just a one night stand-- but I don't think he cheated))....and he laments for his love still. In the third verse, he's trying to reconcile his current fate, saying we're probably better off as friends. He's coming to a more stable understanding so that he can allow himself to move on. In the final verse, he does move on...sort of....with his (new) wife. "Years we've been going strong" to me is just him trying to convince himself it's strong, because he "still sees her face"....so he's not over it. It's a "we were great once, there was a misunderstanding and we parted, yet I still think of you and always will" story. One as old as time and very well written! I don't think he cheated, because he doesn't express any remorse...only confusion and repeated attempts to fix the relationship. But again, each listener has their own take...one could view that he cheated, but he's ignoring that fact and trying to convince himself otherwise -- but his narration just doesn't speak to that. How many of us have broken up over a misunderstanding? He's 25 here in the 1970s - the ripe age and era for relationship drama!
• Seventh Mist from 7th HeavenMighty polarizing, that last verse. But I think it’s pretty obvious that’s he been faithful to his wife. Just because an old flame’s face pops up on occasion, that doesn’t make the marriage shaky or him a scum bag. It just makes him flawed and human.
• Billy from TnThe mystery in the song is whether he cheated or not and why does she suspect him. And we're left to decide that ourselves.
• Cnn All Day Long from FlDoes his current wife know how he feels? I'd be sleeping in another room. And when those images of her face appear before him, he can hide the guilty look on his own face when his wife wakes up in the morning. I don't like the ending to this song. It hurts my heart for his "wife now, years we've been going strong." What a crock.
• Diane from MarylandThis song always makes me cry.. the sad part is that he was being accused of cheating when he did not and the fact that she evidently would not forgive him for something he did not do went on to destroy their relationship so really he's the loser on the end because he loves a woman that broke up because she thought he cheated how sad.. obviously she did not love him.. there's an old saying.. he who loves more is that the mercy of he who loves less
• Zeus from Sewaren NjBottom line this, did he cheat on her or not!
• Cbinatl from GeorgiaI agree and it saddens me every time I hear it. It's well written and sung, but why marry someone if you still have strong feelings for your ex and still long to be with your ex? If I were the partner/wife of the person who wrote this song, I'd feel betrayed, rejected, and less than if I knew he was thinking about her making love to me. When I married, I made sure I was over my first love. You can always care about your former loves/partners, but make sure you really want to be with your spouse MORE than you want to be with your former love.
• Golden Lover from OhioAfter reading the other comments I’m sure this one won’t make me popular but I remember telling my best friend in high school that I loved the line in that last verse - Sometimes when we make love I still see your face - and that I would love it if someone felt that way about me some day. I was a teen who hadn’t even experienced love yet at that time. However, 35 years later I wonder if anyone does think of me that way…..
• Early Riser from Shakopee MnInteresting to see I wasn't the only one who got the last verse. This song is being honest, so honest about this hang-up it’s hard to enjoy without that ending twist. But it’s hardly a twist, again, the story is honest in how bad a guy still has it for his old lover. Feelings so strong that he’s all but ready to walk on his marriage that’s “been going strong.”I get why this song was a hit. I mean this was part of that West Coast pop aesthetic David Pack and his bandmates were aiming for, and Ambrosia nailed it with this and their other songs. There are lots of songs about old flames and "no gettin' over you" kind of lamenting ballads (think Pal Davis’ “I Go Crazy”). And the way the story goes in this song throws you for a loop.Regardless of where the story goes, the story itself tells you that some old loves, like some old wounds, can run deeper than we'd want to bear. Whether or not that’s what Ambrosia was going for here, “How Much I Feel” is an uncomfortable reminder of that.
• Rwoodell from AtlantaIt doesn't matter who you married. It's just that one never completely forgets a love as intense as that one!
• Bruce from Sunnyvale, CaWhen I think of “Soft Rock”...this song is at or near the top of the list of songs that come to my mind.... Yeah, many of us have been there, having someone in your life who you still keep fond memories of...even decades later ....
• Sgsanctuary from NashvilleBest song ever!
• Honey B from San Diego UsaPeople- the song is amazing. C’mon… there is always that ONE person you still think about even 30 years later. We all do. Feelings get deep and sometimes they linger forever….even when you are with someone new
• Rich from LaI see so many posts that talk about the last verses. The meaning is in the beginning. This relationship does not mean much to him. He would break off if she just said to. Then he said that’s how much I feel. Not much. That’s how much. Not much.
• Henry Frederick from Sanford, FloridaIsn't love grand?! He says, "I live for your love." And then in next breath confesses that despite the fact he's "got a wife and years now we've been going strong," that every time he and the Mrs. make love, "I still see your face." So what's the former girlfriend supposed to do? Wait around for him to stop by for a quickie? I say, next time he shows up at the kitchen door, kick him to the curb and he'll crawl back to his wife; but not before he stops at the corner bar to drown his tears. And when he finally makes his way back home to the Mrs., he finds her snuggling in their king-size bed with his old flame; his bags packed and ready to go...
• Terrance from Midnight SunFirst off this is a beautiful song that should just be taken as is by the song writer.There is a point in all our adult lives when we have to make our own limits & structure, with that comes the responsibility of detrimental costs .... You fold a paper in half write down both names, write down how each makes you feel, the time you've been investing in the person you are with. What you are willing to sacrifice for that person, and how you see a family fitting in with each person. Both your future children & your current biological & friends.Last of all you write "Do I love this person?" Under each name. "Do they love me?" Give it time watch closely how each person fits & synchronizes with the above questions. Once you've made your choice, tear the paper in half, tear up & burn the other half. Know that you made the right choice & never, ever look back!
• Chebabeh from In The Land Of The LivingHarmony Speciale, I am so blessed that you commented on this post as I woke up to this song in my spirit. I see this naturally and in the spirit as well. Knowing that our Heavenly Father does nothing without meaning - this song has much meaning.I can see the prospective you have as the devil is very cunning and will do anything to distract, side track and mislead Gods people especially in matters of emotion and love being that this is an area God ordained for His people. I, after reading and rereading the lyrics,see this as how the devil tricked these individuals. The marriage is the ungodly soul-tie. satan came in with a deceptive spirit and separated those that should have been together and has bound the man in a relationship that wasn’t sent from God. How do we know that because the ex and the now married man have the same longing before they were separated. This is how the devil works..... Sometimes as people we have become stuck in place we are not supposed to be and God tells us He will redeem us if we are willing to grab hold of Him and that requires courage, determination and willingness to change.They realize that they couldn’t stay in the middle and made a conscious choice to “be separated” even when offered the opportunity for forgiveness as only God can do not the devil. satan confuses the mind and spirit of many and leave them longing for the love of God they have made a conscious choice to separate from because the man took the wife to pacify or substitute the love of God with someone (something) else and this is how many are today in the world and with Christ. His love can’t be substituted. It’s all or nothing. Thank you so much for sharing your experience I will continue to seek His wisdom concerning this new revelation.
• Randy From Louisiana from Louisiana UsaThe situation can easily happen. I was married for a long time and it did not work out, with fault on both sides. I remarried 10 years later but still thought about my ex for years, not all the time but in certain situations. It finally stopped but it is natural to still have feelings for people from the past. I would not want to get back with my ex-wife at all and am very happy with my wife today.
• Virginia from Los AngelesTop favorite song since around 9
• Sue from KansasHe is selfish to marry another woman when clearly he was still in love with someone else.
• Sue from MinneapolisJeepers people, don’t overthink it. Just enjoy the music.
• Tony D from South Florida If you listen to how he characterizes his situation at the END of the song (ostensibly to his ex-girlfriend on the phone) - "I've got a wife now; for years we've been goin' strong..." - you can readily understand that he is the type of guy who's in denial of his own behavior. He likely WAS "untrue" to the ex-girlfriend - hence the breakup - yet HE didn't see it that way - just as he fails to see that his marriage could not possibly be "going strong" if he's making this phone call...
• Doug from Lawndale, CaWhen I was 18, I met 15 year old C in 1986. Together for a year & a half, she was the love of my life. I hadn't realized it yet, but when I ended up marrying D in '93, I had visions that I'd eventually fall as deep in love with D as I was with C. I tried to allow it. D was a wonderful woman, but for 18 years I pined for C. My marriage lasted 7 years, with no children from it. With the internet, I was finally able to learn C's whereabouts, & that she'd married. I never whittled it down to an address or phone number, but in 2008, I got a FB page solely for her to be able to find me if she ever wanted to. It took a year, but she found me. She was married with children at the time, but had already began looking online for discreet adult fun by the time I received her email. We reunited, and will be together until death parts us. This song reminds me of the days I was so very sad & was feeling trapped in a marriage with a woman I never was in love with. I'd hear it, think of C, & remember how incredibly happy her love made me. Life is too short to shortchange your chance at that kind of indescribable connection. I've no regrets. A word to the wise; pay attention to the needs of your significant other. There's always someone that'll be ready to give her all the attention she wants. You snooze, you'll lose.
• Shandroise De Laeken from Davao City, PhilippinesThere are lyrics which say "I live for your love"... what does that mean? Aside from that " sometimes when we make love I still see your face" line how can he say that his and his wife's marriage is strong?
• Harmony Speciale from Utica NyMike Klockowski Great song!!53 mins · Unlike · 1Harmony Speciale Yeah, I woke up with this in my head.46 mins · LikeHarmony Speciale But here's the catch....or the killer of a nice beat, easy listening song....it is about soul ties...unGodly soul ties. So, if you listen closely it talks about how the man and his wife have been 'going strong for years'. He goes on to tell this woman of his past (his soul tie) that he still sees her face while he and his WIFE are making love. That, my friend is an unhealthy, unGoldly soul tie. It exists as a demonic spirit to keep our spirit fractured, so we do not come into relation with Christ, and ultimately keeps us from doing God's will. When we are not careful, we are tricked by Satan from living out God's plan for each of us. Do not be fooled by the enemy. So, moving on, I woke with this song i my head, after being very, very tempted this past week. I enjoyed the song, played it, sang it with joy...and then my spirit was convicted as I continued to play the song over and listened to the lyrics closer. It sounds nice, makes us feel nice, and even makes it easier for us to be tempted, and commit adultery. THE DEVIL IS A LIAR! Thank you, Lord for the gift of discernment and for your Holy Spirit who fights the spiritual battle for my life, for my spirit, so I can become whole, emanate You more, and become the woman you created me to be, so I can be a more powerful witness and do Your will. Amen!19 mins · Edited · Like · 1Mike Klockowski You Are right!17 mins · Unlike · 1Harmony Speciale Isn't that good stuff, Mike Klockowski!!! Now listen to how demonic it is...that is how spiritual warfare works. Now, if I were to sleep with a man who happened to be married, that would fracture my spirit, and keep me from the beautiful things that god has planned for me, BIG things in His name and glory. And how beautiful and sexy, and forgiving Satan makes it appear to us..after all we are all human, right? We are sexual FEELING beings neediing to release, hence the title of the song "How Much I Feel". God's title of this song, however is "How Much I F-E-L-L", because of acting on our feelings, we are duped and fall under the spell fo the ultimate father of lies, Satan! The lyrics go on to say 'how foolish we have been'. It also says "take hold of my hand and all will be forgiven" Ha!!! What a lie! But wait, hear this too....the song sings "so you try, try to stay in the MIDDLE and then you cry, you CRY JUST A LITTLE, then you both realize just how foolish you've been, and you try to make amends". So, what is the middle...hmm...it's Satan's lies telling us that it will only hurt a little when we stay in the middle...the middle defined as being lukewarm in the spirit, NOT in relation with God, but duped into thinking that we are not of the Devil either. What a lie!Just now · Edited · LikeHarmony Speciale Life's lessons...I am SO very thankful He has removed the scales form my eyes, think...no PRAY that He blesses you, too. There is FREEDOM IN HIS LOVE!
• Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn August 27th 1978, "How Much I Feel" by Ambrosia entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #90; and on November 11th, 1978 it peaked at #3 {for 3 weeks} and spent 21 weeks on the Top 100...It reached #30 on the Australian Kent Music Report chart...Between 1975 and 1982 the LA-base group had seven Top 100 records; with two making the Top 10, their other Top 10 record, "Biggest Part of Me", also peaked at #3 and also for 3 weeks {it peaked on June 1st, 1980}.
• Camille from Toronto, OhThis is a beautiful song. The singer has unresolved issues in his life. He wishes he could go back to the time and place when he was together with this woman, but life doesn't work that way; love doesn't work that way. For the most part, he's moved on but still, there's that little morsel of regret that doesn't leave. It's possible that this guy was untrue, he doesn't actually deny it, so maybe he's still trying to come to grips with the realization that his actions caused him to lose this woman, wondering if whether he'd made different choices, his life could have turned out another way.
• Raven from Montclair, NjI am a female. I CAN RELATE to these lyrics. Just because he is married to someone else, there is STILL that secret part of him that his current wife ignites a memory of the last time he felt that way. It doesn't mean that he would just dump his wife to rekindle a past romance. There was this one guy that impacted my life so DEEP and Thorough that it took me YEARS to move on in my mind AND heart. No matter what I did, we just couldn't or he WOULDN'T believe that my love was true.-when it was the most authentic relationship I had at that time. Eventually, you get tired of "proving' your love. You move on. You meet someone else. You fall in love. But once in a while, your mate stirs an emotion-a memory and it brings you back to a place with someone else. It's normal. It also happens more times than people will admit.
• Mike from Park Ridge, IlThis previous women he sings about was probably not all that stable in the first place and probably need to stop thinking about her and concentrate on the lady he's married to.
• Fawn from Madison, WiThis song is about limerence. There is only one man I ever felt this way about. It's not even first love, it's ultimate love that completes you. Like finding the other part of you that has been missing. The new wife isn't his soul mate. He needs to get back together with the first wife. He's taking her hand and wants her to recall when they were one. He needs to divorce his wife and be with his only true love. x
• Glen from Cronulla, AustraliaAh yes , teenage memories ,running my v8 van MIDNIGHT BREEZE down the South Coast of Sydney in 1980. Girls,girls,girls...
• Janice from Amesbury, MaThis one make me think of my first love, although it's years later, he's still there somewhere! Always will be!
• Terry from Cityintexas, United KingdomI love this song... noone ever forgets their 1st love. just admit it
• Eric from Point Place, WiI hate to admit it but I sort of actually like this song by Ambrosia. I think that there are lots of people who can relate or semi-relate to the situation played out in the lyrics. I've been stuck on one particular girl though we are and have been apart for quite some time.
• Rebekah from Miami, FlThe song has the undeniable ability to make you feel sad for the fact that the guy is laying out his inability to let go. The unnerving part is the twist of getting married and trying to impress that the marriage is strong. A strong marriage wouldnt consist of one person imagining his ex while making love, of course, the person imagining the ex doesnt see this as a weak link, lol.
• Matt from Dallas, TxI think the song has a common theme: A guy who doesn't have a choice in ending a serious relationship. He gets over it, realizes the mutual feelings aren't there to re-ignite the relationship. He does his best to move on entirely, but years later there are still remnants. I doubt his marriage is truly unhealthy, but he certainly needs to keep trying to leave the past.
• Kim from Nashville, TnThis is about a couple that breaks up because she thinks he has been untrue. However he has not been untrue and still trying to get over her.

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