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.

Only a Dream
Solomon Burke Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Only a dream
That I had
In the night

Only a dream
But it felt
So right

Well I was down there
In the moonlight
I was holding you tight

But it was only a dream
Only a dream

Only a dream
That knocks me off my feet

Only a dream
Have you dancing
In the street

And that big band
Keeps on playing
Joe henry's retreat

But only a dream
Only in my dream

Only a dream
But somebody tried to knock me down

Only a dream
Keeps on hanging around

Only a dream
We're rolling in the snow

Only a dream
We just couldn't let go

I sit outside your window
Just like romeo
But it's only a dream
Yes, only a dream

But someone tries to knock me down
To the ground
But it was only a dream

But it's just a dream
Still hanging around

Overall Meaning

Solomon Burke's song "Only a Dream" talks about a dream where the singer was with a woman that he was holding tightly in the moonlight. The music from a big band playing Joe Henry's retreat could be heard in the background. It was a dream that knocked him off his feet and made him feel good. Despite the dream being a beautiful one, it was still just a dream, and nothing more. The song's chorus emphasizes this fact.

The dream was so powerful that it made the singer feel like he was dancing with the woman in the streets. The dream stuck with him and kept him from moving on. The person tried to move on even though it was just a dream but couldn't. He then compares himself to Romeo, who would sit outside Juliet's window, but his situation was just a dream. The song ends with the singer acknowledging that even though it's just a dream, it still lingers.

Overall, the lyrics of "Only a Dream" show how powerful dreams can be and how they can affect our lives even after we have woken up.

Line by Line Meaning

Only a dream
What I experienced was not real

That I had
It was a conception in my mind

In the night
During a period of darkness

But it felt
Although it did not exist, it seemed

So right
Perfectly fitting

Well I was down there
I felt like I had gone there in my mind

In the moonlight
I was in a place illuminated by the moon

I was holding you tight
I was embracing you closely

That knocks me off my feet
It made me so happy I lost control

Have you dancing
You were moving happily