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.
In The Ghetto
Solomon Burke Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On a cold and gray
Chicago mornin'
A poor little baby child is
Born
In the ghetto
And his mama cries
'Cause if there's one thing
It's another hungry mouth
To feed
In the ghetto
People, don't you
Understand
The child needs a helping
Hand
Or he'll grow to be an
Angry young man some day
Take a look at you and me,
Are we too blind to see,
Do we simply turn our
Heads
And look the other way
Well the world turns
And a hungry little boy
With a runny nose
Plays in the street as the
Cold wind blows
In the ghetto
And his hunger burns
So he starts to roam the
Streets at night
And he learns how to steal
And he learns how to fight
In the ghetto
Then one night in
Desperation
A young man breaks away
He buys a gun, steals a
Car,
Tries to run, but he don't
Get far
And his mama cries
As a crowd gathers 'round
An angry young man
Face down on the street
With a gun in his hand
In the ghetto
As her young man dies,
On a cold and gray
Chicago mornin',
Another little baby child is
Born
In the ghetto
Solomon Burke's song In The Ghetto is a powerful depiction of poverty and social inequality in urban America. The lyrics speak of a poor, struggling family living in the ghetto of Chicago, and the problems they face raising a child in such difficult circumstances. The first verse sets the scene: as the snow falls on a cold morning, a baby is born into a world of poverty and hardship, and his mother is left to worry about how she will feed another hungry mouth. The song then goes on to describe how the child grows up and is forced to turn to crime to survive, which ultimately leads to his untimely death.
The chorus is a call to action to the listener, as Burke asks if we understand the plight of those living in poverty and if we are willing to help. The final verse is particularly poignant, as it describes how the cycle of poverty continues, with another baby being born into the same situation as the one before. The song is a powerful critique of societal injustice and inequality, and it remains relevant today, as poverty and inequality continue to be major issues in urban America.
Line by Line Meaning
As the snow flies
On a snowy day in the city of Chicago
On a cold and gray
Describing the weather as bleak and dull
Chicago mornin'
Referring to the morning in Chicago where the story takes place
A poor little baby child is
The birth of a baby in impoverished circumstances
Born
The baby's birth
In the ghetto
The child was born into a poor neighborhood
And his mama cries
The mother of the child is in pain, and is grieving over the conditions of their unfortunate situation
'Cause if there's one thing
For the mother, there is one fact that she knows for certain
That she don't need
Something that she doesn't require
It's another hungry mouth
The mother cannot handle having another child to feed due to her circumstances
To feed
Provide sustenance to
In the ghetto
Reiterating that the child was born in an impoverished community
People, don't you
A call to action to the people
Understand
The need to comprehend and be empathetic
The child needs a helping
The child should require the aid of society
Hand
Assistance
Or he'll grow to be an
The future consequences of not helping will be significant
Angry young man some day
The child will have a lot of rage as he grows up in these circumstances
Take a look at you and me,
A reminder of the people's involvement in their society
Are we too blind to see,
We may be neglecting what we are doing wrong in our surroundings
Do we simply turn our
A decision made to ignore and not address
Heads
Avoiding the situation
And look the other way
Ignoring poverty and its consequences
Well the world turns
Life continues even in the midst of tragedy
And a hungry little boy
A hungry and impoverished young boy
With a runny nose
The boy is sick and probably hasn't been taken care of properly
Plays in the street as the
The only thing the boy can do for entertainment is play in the streets
Cold wind blows
It's a miserable time to be outside
In the ghetto
The boy lives in an impoverished part of the city
And his hunger burns
The character feels an intense, driving craving to which nothing satisfies
So he starts to roam the
The character begins to wander
Streets at night
The character comes alive at night among the shadows in which he can remain anonymous
And he learns how to steal
Taking for his survival teaches him how to steal
And he learns how to fight
He learns how to defend himself by fighting other people just as poor as him
In the ghetto
The poor character is still living in the poor area
Then one night in
At one decisive moment
Desperation
When someone is overcome with hopelessness
A young man breaks away
A young man decides to change his fate and leave his old, impoverished life behind
He buys a gun, steals a
He turns to violence and theft to buy himself a weapon and his means of escape
Car,
The young man plans on driving away and not looking back
Tries to run, but he don't
The young man uses the stolen car in his plan of escape from his life in poverty, but the plan doesn’t work
Get far
He fails to get too far from his world of poverty
And his mama cries
The young man's mother is overwhelmed with grief
As a crowd gathers 'round
A group of people have gathered together to witness the event
An angry young man
The character is angry at the life he was born into and the events that took place
Face down on the street
The young man is lying on the ground, facing downwards
With a gun in his hand
He holds the gun as he lies on the ground
In the ghetto
The young man's life in the ghetto leads him to this tragic end
As her young man dies,
The passing of a young man that did not have the opportunities he deserved
On a cold and gray
The use of the same lines from the first paragraph is to draw the contrast of life before and after the young man's death
Chicago mornin',
Again, the emphasis on the city take back to the start of the story
Another little baby child is
Contrasts life and the cycle of poverty
Born
The unchanging cycle of life and suffering continues
In the ghetto
The child is born into the same condition that the young man who died was forced to live in.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, RALEIGH MUSIC PUBLISHING
Written by: Mac Davis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind