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.
Honey Where's The Money Gone
Solomon Burke Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Honey where the money gone
Where the money go
I been working two jobs baby
Bring you all my dough
Now they say you got another man
And your leave me right away
What happened to all that cash
Well there's one thing one thing
One thing I want to know
I don't care where the lovin went
Baby where did the money go
Can't move round this old house
For catalogs and shopping bags
Meanwhile they rеpossess
The only car I evеr had took away my TV set
And cancelled my credit
Can't find no dollar bills
I been keeping in the car for gas
Well there's one thing one thing
One thing that I want to know
I don't care where the lovin went
Baby but Honey where did the money go
Where did the money go
Where did the money go
Where did the money go
Where did the money go i want to know Honey
Where did the money go baby you look so good
In your brand new dress
I wondered how you paid for that
Now you just let me guess
Now you say you're movin on
Headin where the livin is fine
How come I get the feeling that
It cost me my last dime
Well there's one thing one thing
One thing I really want to know
I don't care where the lovin went
Baby but Honey where did the money go
I don't care where the lovin went
Baby but honey where did the money go
I don't care where the lovin went
Honey tell me where did the money go
The lyrics of Solomon Burke's song Honey Where's The Money Gone are about a man who has been working two jobs and providing for his partner, only to find out that she has been spending all their money and has now left him for another man. He is left with nothing, with their house filled with shopping bags and catalogs, their car repossessed, and his credit card canceled. He is confused and hurt and wants to know where all their money went. He doesn't care about the love that he lost, but he wants answers about the money that he worked hard for.
The song highlights the importance of trust and honesty in a relationship. The singer had been working hard and giving all his money to his partner, but she had been lying to him and spending all their money on other things. The song also touches on the materialistic side of relationships and how easy it is to get caught up in spending and forget about the consequences. The singer is left with nothing and is left wondering where everything went wrong.
Overall, the song is a powerful and emotional ballad about the pitfalls of relationships and the importance of being truthful and transparent with your partner.
Line by Line Meaning
Honey where the money go
Darling, where did our money disappear to?
Honey where the money gone
Sweetheart, where has all our money gone?
Where the money go
Where did our money go?
I been working two jobs baby
I have been working two jobs, my dear
Bring you all my dough
I give you all the money I earn
Now they say you got another man
Now they are saying you have another man in your life
And your leave me right away
And you are leaving me immediately
What happened to all that cash
What happened to all that money we had
Been keeping for a rainy day
We were saving it for a difficult time
Well there's one thing one thing
Well, there is one thing that I want to ask
One thing I want to know
I want to know one thing
I don't care where the lovin went
I don't care where the love disappeared to
Baby where did the money go
Darling, where did our money go?
Can't move round this old house
I can't move freely in this old house
For catalogs and shopping bags
Because it's filled with catalogs and shopping bags
Meanwhile they repossess
Meanwhile, they repossess
The only car I ever had
The only car I ever owned
Took away my TV set
Took my television away
And cancelled my credit
And canceled my credit
Can't find no dollar bills
I can't find any dollar bills
I been keeping in the car for gas
That I had kept in the car for fuel
Where did the money go
Where did our money disappear to?
Where did the money go i want to know Honey
I want to know, my dear, where our money went
Where did the money go baby you look so good
Where did our money go, baby, you look so good
In your brand new dress
Wearing your new dress
I wondered how you paid for that
I wondered how you financed that purchase
Now you just let me guess
Now you are leaving me to speculate
Now you say you're movin on
Now you say you are moving on
Headin where the livin is fine
Going to a place where life is better
How come I get the feeling that
Why do I have a feeling that
It cost me my last dime
It has cost me all my money
I don't care where the lovin went
I don't care where the love disappeared to
Baby but Honey where did the money go
Darling, but where did our money go?
I don't care where the lovin went
I don't care where the love disappeared to
Baby but honey where did the money go
Darling, but where did our money go?
I don't care where the lovin went
I don't care where the love disappeared to
Honey tell me where did the money go
Darling, please tell me where our money went
Lyrics © BARRY BOY SONGS, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PAUL KENNERLEY, BARRY MELCON TASHIAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Buttered Biskit
What a great album.
Blue Fish
I dedicate this song to the college that never got me a job.
zombiejon
great song, added to ZoMBiEJoN's UnDead BLuEs play list Thanks for posting!
Belinda Loux
Thats what my husband says,,,I don't care about no lovin...don't spend no money.🤣🤣🤣
Belinda Loux
Well, you should have been a controlling husband like mine...we own everything. Be a good husband don't be rude!