Solomon Burke (born March 21, 1940 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, died… Read Full Bio ↴Solomon Burke (born March 21, 1940 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, died October 10, 2010 at Schiphol Airport, The Netherlands) was a soul music pioneer and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Despite releasing numerous rnb chart hits in the 1960s, he never had a Top 20 hit on the pop charts. Burke's influence, however, has outstripped his mainstream commercial success. He is considered a legend of American music.

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.

Don't Give Up On Me
Solomon Burke Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

If I fall short, if I don't make the grades'
If your expectations aren't met in me today'
There is always tomorrow, or tomorrow night'
Hang in there baby, sooner or later'
I know ill get it right,

Please, don't give up on me'
Oh please don't give up on me'

I know its late, late in the game'
But my feelings, my true feelings'
Haven't changed'
Here in my heart'

I know, I know I was wrong, wrong wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong'
I'd like to make a mends for the love that I never, ever, ever, ever shown'
Just don't give up on me, every word is true'

I'll give you my everything, all of my love,all of my love, all of my love love love'
Just don't give up on me'
Oh please, please, please'
Don't give up on me.

I don't want you to'
I know its late, but wait, please, please, please, please'
Don't give up on me'
Promise, will you promise, will you promise me'
Please don't give up on me'

We can make it if we try'
I'm gonna hold on, hold on with me'
And don't give up on me, oh-ooh, -oohohoooh -baby'
Oh baby, Oh baby, please, don't-give-up-on-me'
Whatever you do, we gonna make it, gonna make it through'

Don't you give up on me, please, please, please Promise me'
Don't-give-up-on-me.

Overall Meaning

Solomon Burke's song "Don't Give Up on Me" speaks of the singer's worries about disappointing the one he loves. He wonders what will happen if he falls short of their expectations and fails to meet their standards, but he implores them not to give up on him even if it takes some time to get things right. The lyrics express his feelings of remorse for not having shown love in the past and his determination to make amends. He promises to give his all and begs them to hold on, assuring them that together they can overcome any challenge.

The song's lyrics also convey a sense of optimism and hope. Despite the mistakes that Burke has made in the past and the possibility of failure, he believes that with the support of his loved one, they can make it through anything. The repetition of "please don't give up on me" throughout the song reinforces the singer's fear of being abandoned but also the strength of his desire to stay connected to the people he cares about.

Line by Line Meaning

If I fall short, if I don't make the grades'
If I fail to meet your expectations or succeed in my endeavors

If your expectations aren't met in me today'
If I don't live up to what you expect of me right now

There is always tomorrow, or tomorrow night'
There is always a chance to try again and do better

Hang in there baby, sooner or later'
Have patience, things will work out eventually

I know ill get it right,
I am confident that I will succeed if you don't give up on me

Please, don't give up on me'
I am asking you to not give up on me

Oh please don't give up on me'
I am pleading with you to not give up on me

I know its late, late in the game'
I know it may seem like it's too late to change, but it's not

But my feelings, my true feelings'
My emotions and intentions are genuine

Haven't changed'
They have remained the same

Here in my heart'
I truly feel this way deep down in my heart

I know, I know I was wrong, wrong wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong'
I am aware that I have made mistakes

I'd like to make a mends for the love that I never, ever, ever, ever shown'
I want to make it up to you for not showing you enough love

Just don't give up on me, every word is true'
Please believe that everything I am saying is true and have faith in me

I'll give you my everything, all of my love,all of my love, all of my love love love'
I am willing to give you everything I have

Oh please, please, please'
I am begging you

I don't want you to'
I don't want you to give up on me

I know its late, but wait, please, please, please, please'
I know it may seem like it's too late, but please wait and have faith in me

Promise, will you promise, will you promise me'
Please make a promise to me

We can make it if we try'
We can succeed if we both work at it

I'm gonna hold on, hold on with me'
I am going to try my best to hold on and not give up

And don't give up on me, oh-ooh, -oohohoooh -baby'
Please don't give up on me, my love

Oh baby, Oh baby, please, don't-give-up-on-me'
I am pleading with you not to give up on me, my love

Whatever you do, we gonna make it, gonna make it through'
No matter what happens, we are going to get through this

Don't you give up on me, please, please, please Promise me'
Please promise me that you won't give up on me

Don't-give-up-on-me.
One last plea to not give up on me

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Peermusic Publishing, HOY LINDSEY MUSIC
Written by: CARSON WHITSETT, DAN PENN, HOY LINDSEY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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