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 Come on Home
Solomon Burke Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You see her train disappear out of sight
What would you give if you had the power
To hold back that long, lonely night
And I keep praying wherever you might be
Come on home to me i need you
All of her kisses tasted the same
But now, she's gone, gone
And, oh, what I would give just to see her
Just to hear her call my name
She can say it so sweet
Come on home i'm afraid you're coming home
One long, lonely night
She never wore bright colored dresses
Didn't like perfume diamonds and lace
But I wanted parties and a big time woman
Now all I want god knows all I need
Is to see her face
And hear her call my name again and say
Oh, if you only knew
It's still around here for now
I need you, baby please come home
In Solomon Burke's "Baby Come on Home," the singer's heart aches as he watches his lover train leave sight, wondering if he had the ability to alter time and bring back the gone, lonely nights until she returns home. He prays for her wherever she is and longs for her to return home to him. The song portrays regret, as the singer laments for taking the affection of his lover for granted. He describes how he never appreciated her sweetness and how she would call his name. She never wore fine clothing or likes glittery jewelry, but the singer realizes that more than that, all he wants is to see her face once more and hear her say his name.
Solomon Burke's "Baby Come on Home" was a massive soul hit in the early 1970s. ‘Baby Come Home' reflected the soldier returning from Vietnam who desperately wanted his woman back, according to Burke, who first released the song in 1966 in remembrance of the Vietnam war. Nonetheless, he re-recorded it in the 1970s with more emotion added to reflect the Soul/R&B sound that was prevalent in that period. The Song lasts 2:50 and is played in the key of C. Acoustic guitar, drums, and piano are the various musical instruments in the song.
Line by Line Meaning
When your baby packs up and leaves you
When the person you love leaves you
You see her train disappear out of sight
You watch her leave and disappear from your life
What would you give if you had the power
If you could rewind time, what would you do differently?
To hold back that long, lonely night
To keep her by your side and avoid the heartache
And I keep praying wherever you might be
I continue to hope and pray that you'll come back
Come on home to me i need you
I need you to come home and be with me
I used to take her lips for granted
I didn't appreciate her love the way I should have
All of her kisses tasted the same
I didn't notice the different ways she expressed her love
But now, she's gone, gone
But now, she's left me and I miss her deeply
And, oh, what I would give just to see her
I would give anything just to see her again
Just to hear her call my name
And hear her say my name once more
She can say it so sweet
She has a way of saying my name that melts my heart
Come on home i'm afraid you're coming home
I'm scared that you'll come back, but I want you to
One long, lonely night
Without you here, the nights are long and lonely
She never wore bright colored dresses
She didn't dress to impress, but I loved her anyway
Didn't like perfume diamonds and lace
She didn't care for material things or fancy perfumes
But I wanted parties and a big time woman
I was more focused on having a good time and dating someone flashy
Now all I want god knows all I need
Now, I realize that all I want and need is her love
Is to see her face
I long to see her beautiful face again
And hear her call my name again and say
And hear her say my name and express her love once more
Oh, if you only knew
If you could only see how much I need and miss you
It's still around here for now
My love for you is still here and strong
I need you, baby please come home
I need you to come home and be with me
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind