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.
Flesh and Blood
Solomon Burke Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That'll do for now
The night has come and left me
Just the light that you allow
Come speak my name
Fill my head with all such foolish dreams
My flesh and blood
Than what it seems
My love for you is burning
Like a spark along a fuse
I feel your mark upon me now
As surely as the hand that leaves the bruise
Life is for the living
And life comes hard for some
The rest of us with flesh and blood
Make it hard all along
All I ever wanted
Was the freedom to refuse
Or something of my own to love enough
To hate
To lose
The fever in my brain
Is leaving smoke behind my eyes
But the part of me that wants to change
Fights the part of me that tries
Come see the golden light
Cause I've turned the gold light on
Sometimes god knows
You gotta learn to shine, shine, shine shine, shine gold
I stepped out of darkness
And for a moment
I'm only living by your kiss, your kiss, your kiss, your kiss, your lips, your kiss
And now, just for now, our flesh and blood
Is more real than this
More real than this
More real than this
More real than this
Of this love
Flesh and blood
Flesh and blood
More real than this
More real than this
In "Flesh and Blood," Solomon Burke sings about the intensity and duality of love. The opening lines, "Come sit beside me, That'll do for now" suggests that the singer is in a state of emotional vulnerability and that the only solace they can find is in the presence of the person they love. The line, "My flesh and blood / Is no more real to me / Than what it seems," highlights the paradoxical nature of love, in which something that is both physical and emotional can still be elusive and intangible.
Burke then goes on to describe the burning love that he feels for the person in question. The line, "My love for you is burning / Like a spark along a fuse," implies that the love that the singer feels is volatile and might explode at any moment. He then continues with the line, "Life is for the living / And the life comes hard for some / The rest of us with flesh and blood / Make it hard all along," suggesting that some people have it much harder than others, but ultimately it is our own humanity that makes life difficult.
Line by Line Meaning
Come sit beside me
Please come and join me.
That'll do for now
That is enough for the time being.
The night has come and left me
The night has arrived and passed by.
Just the light that you allow
I am only able to see because of your light.
Come speak my name
Say my name, please.
Fill my head with all such foolish dreams
Tell me all the silly dreams you have.
My flesh and blood
My physical presence.
Is no more real to me
It seems less real to me.
Than what it seems
Less real than it appears.
My love for you is burning
I have a passionate affection for you.
Like a spark along a fuse
It is growing quickly and strongly like a lit fuse.
I feel your mark upon me now
I can sense your impact on me right now.
As surely as the hand that leaves the bruise
I feel it just as surely as I would feel a painful mark.
Life is for the living
Life should be enjoyed by those living it.
And life comes hard for some
Life is not always easy for everyone.
The rest of us with flesh and blood
The rest of us who are tangible.
Make it hard all along
We can make it even more difficult.
All I ever wanted
My sole desire was.
Was the freedom to refuse
The ability to say no.
Or something of my own to love enough
Finding something that I can cherish.
To hate
And as a result, something to despise.
To lose
And the possibility of losing it.
The fever in my brain
My intense motivation.
Is leaving smoke behind my eyes
It is causing me to tear up and causing a haziness in my vision.
But the part of me that wants to change
The side that wants to transform itself.
Fights the part of me that tries
Is in conflict with the part of me that is making an effort.
Come see the golden light
Come and see the brilliant yellow light.
Cause I've turned the gold light on
Because I have illuminated the area with it.
Sometimes god knows
Sometimes it can be hard to determine.
You gotta learn to shine, shine, shine shine, shine gold
You need to know how to shine like the gold light.
I stepped out of darkness
I left behind a gloomy period of time.
And for a moment
For a brief time.
I'm only living by your kiss, your kiss, your kiss, your kiss, your lips, your kiss
I am alive exclusively because of your affectionate kiss.
And now, just for now, our flesh and blood
At this moment, momentarily.
Is more real than this
Feels more tangible than the rest of reality.
More real than this
Seemed even more real.
More real than this
Belonged in another dimension altogether.
More real than this
Far more tangible than anything before.
Of this love
Within this affection.
Flesh and blood
Being physical.
Flesh and blood
Having a bodily presence.
More real than this
Significantly more tangible than anything else.
More real than this
Truly belonged in another realm entirely.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Joe Henry
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@TheFunkyKingston
Heart-breaking organ and vocals.King Solomon will live for ever!
@ladymayala
Song is so sexy and timeless. Needed to hear it tonight.
@Kalimerakis
+ladymayala i just felt the same
came out of nowhere
an moved my soul
@000DAAN000
This blows me away every time... Such a tasteful song, straight from the soul. Damn.
@normaj.3305
Wow!! he sounds so much like Brooke Benton (one of my favorite singers of all time) in this song :)
@invisibleboy3997
All I ever wanted
Was the freedom to refuse
Or something of my own to love enough
To hate
To lose...
@langelo04
Smooth as hell, New orleans here I come!!!
@grinderman77
Oh my, finding music of that quality isn't easy these days. I wonder how people felt when this recording sessions came to and end. Did the musicians all look at one another and think "wow, what do we have here"!!!!!!
@hjalmarlindstrom977
Love this joint
@bukarin
Masterpiece!