He began his adult life as a young preacher in Philadelphia, where he hosted a gospel radio show. In the 1960s, he signed with Atlantic Records and began moving towards more secular music. His first hit was Just Out Of Reach Of My Open Arms, a cover of a country song. Though well-received by both peers and critics, and attaining a few moderate pop and several major R&B hits, Burke never could quite break through into the mainstream as did his contemporaries like Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin.
Nevertheless, his emotive delivery, polished production, as well as the touches of country and pop sensibility in his music won him admirers and imitators. In 1964 he wrote and recorded Everybody Needs Somebody To Love his most prominent bid for an enduring soul standard. Covered by the Rolling Stones the same year, other well-known versions include one by Wilson Pickett and another a decade and a half later in the 1980 feature film by The Blues Brothers. Burke's biggest hit was a 1969 cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's Proud Mary.
His career was to some degree revived in 2002, with the release of the album Don't Give Up On Me, produced by Joe Henry, where he sang songs written specifically for the album by a roster of top-rank artists, including Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits and Joe Henry himself.
He is featured in the 2004 movie Lightning in a Bottle singing Turn on Your Love Light and Down in the Valley.
As of October 2002 Burke was the father of 14 daughters and 7 sons with 64 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren. Several of his children and grandchildren have had successful careers in various facets of the music industry, though none as much so as their patriarch.
Burke died, arriving at Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam where he was supposed to perform with Dutch band De Dijk with whom he recorded an album, entitled Hold on Tight.
Rock icon Mick Jagger performed a tribute to Burke at the 2011 Grammy Awards, laying down Burke's classic hit "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love".
A cover of Everybody Needs Somebody To Love received huge exposure as the music for Amazon's 2019 Christmas commercial.
Baby
Solomon Burke Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I know you ain't gonna like it
But I'm stepping right out in your world
For I'm coming to your party
And I won't be able to stay
But I'm gonna kiss you one more time, Lord
Then I'm going away
Goodbye baby hmm, baby goodbye hmm
You may be lonely, yeah, you may be hurt
Like a fool I gave you candy
You turned around and treated me like dirt
But still I'm gonna come to your party
And just before the break of day
I'm gonna touch you one more time, Lord
Then I'm going away
Sing it to me again
Goodbye baby hmm ha, baby goodbye
Look out, what you see?
I see a train a-coming
A train a-coming down the long lonesome track
I'll tell you, girl, I gotta go on home now
But deep down in your heart
You know that someday I'm, I'm coming back
And I'm gonna look for you at your party
Cause all the time I know that I'll find you there
And listen, I'm gonna dance with you
One more time, oh yeah
Sing it to me tonight now
Goodbye baby, sing it sweet baby goodbye
Lord, you're singing so sweet tonight Goodbye baby
Goodbye baby baby baby baby goodbye
I'll see you around sometime, Lord Goodbye baby
The lyrics of the song "Goodbye Baby" by Solomon Burke are about a man who is leaving his girlfriend but wishes to give her one last kiss before he goes. He knows that she is not going to like it but he has already made up his mind. He had been hurt by her but she was the love of his life and so he will always come back to her. He is going away but hopes that one day he will come back to her and find her at the party. The last dance would be the perfect way to end it all.
The song conveys a sense of regret and heartbreak. The man is aware that his relationship with his girlfriend is not perfect but it is still hard to say goodbye. He acknowledges his mistakes but hopes that they can still be together someday. The train is a metaphor for his departure and his return. Even as he leaves he tells her that he will come back someday.
Overall, the song is a poignant and heartfelt lament about lost love and the difficulty of letting go. The man is torn between his desire for freedom and his love for his girlfriend. He may be leaving, but he knows that he will always come back to her, and the prospect of the last dance fills him with both sadness and hope.
Line by Line Meaning
Goodbye baby, so long girl
Solomon Burke is bidding farewell to his lover
I know you ain't gonna like it
Solomon Burke is aware that his lover won't take it lightly
But I'm stepping right out in your world
He is going to her party
For I'm coming to your party
He is going to attend her party
And I won't be able to stay
Solomon Burke won't be able to stay for a long time at the party
But I'm gonna kiss you one more time, Lord
Solomon Burke will kiss her before leaving the party
Then I'm going away
After kissing her, he will leave the party and say goodbye
You may be lonely, yeah, you may be hurt
Solomon Burke acknowledges that she may feel lonely and hurt
Like a fool I gave you candy
He thinks that he is responsible for spoiling her and maybe deserves her indifference
You turned around and treated me like dirt
She reciprocated with rude behaviour even though he treated her well
But still I'm gonna come to your party
Despite all this, he is still going to come to her party
And just before the break of day
Solomon Burke will leave before dawn
I'm gonna touch you one more time, Lord
Before leaving, he will touch her once again
Then I'm going away
After touching her for the last time, he will leave the party and bid goodbye
Look out, what you see?
Solomon Burke is asking his lover to look out and see something
I see a train a-coming
He is pointing out to a train that is coming
A train a-coming down the long lonesome track
The train is on a long, lonesome track
I'll tell you, girl, I gotta go on home now
He needs to go home
But deep down in your heart
Solomon Burke knows that his lover still loves him
You know that someday I'm, I'm coming back
He assures her that he will come back someday
And I'm gonna look for you at your party
He will look for her at her party when he comes back
Cause all the time I know that I'll find you there
He is sure that he will find her at the party
And listen, I'm gonna dance with you
When he finds her, he will dance with her
One more time, oh yeah
He will dance with her one more time before he leaves
Lord, you're singing so sweet tonight Goodbye baby
Solomon Burke appreciates his lover's sweet singing voice
Goodbye baby baby baby baby goodbye
Solomon Burke says goodbye to his lover with affection
I'll see you around sometime, Lord Goodbye baby
Solomon Burke hopes to see his lover again in the future
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, MORRIS MUSIC, INC.
Written by: BERT RUSSELL, WES FARRELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind