Solomon Burke - You Can’t Love ‘Em All

Sure, at the surface ‘You Can’t Love ‘Em All’ is a song about how, when strolling down a street, one might come across several women who are ideal candidates for a good ol’ furtherin’ of the human race. Me, I wouldn’t know, as I only have eyes for you. However, whether Solomon is musing on the disparity between libido and stamina, making known his mission to love ‘em all, or simply suggesting that some people are unlovable, there is a gleaming nugget of eternal wisdom nestled gently in the chorus of this song:

No, you can’t love ‘em all,
No, you can’t love ‘em all,
No I can’t, ‘cause I’m only one guy.
No, you can’t love ‘em all,
No, you can’t love ‘em all,
Oh, no I can’t - but I’m sure gonna try.

Ahh, the wisdom of Solomon. The tributaries feeding this fountain of wisdom surely began in adolescence, when Solomon practiced as a mortician and undertaker with his uncle before finding success as a performer, all the while remaining devoutly Catholic. A devout Catholic mortician turned soul singer.  So many questions! Can morticians believe in ‘soul’? Is there any room for religion in the face of the stark, efficient and gruesome reality of embalming? Did he sing to them?

Despite Solomon’s humble admission of being unable to love them all, at press time he has 21 children and 91 grandchildren, which suggests he certainly loved some of them, the Catholic way, by which I mean guiltily and in ceremonial garb.

Solomon’s profound message and captivating life aside, this simply is a wonderful performance and example of songwriting (courtesy of Bert Berns, Jerry Leiber, and Mike Stoller, who likely loved none of ‘em).  Trumpets, doo wop chorus, sweaty and lecherous vocal performance, kernel of immutable truth - this song’s got it all. If this song could whip me up an omelette, I wouldn’t even be writing this as I’d be busy arranging a quiet ceremony with close friends and immediate family. Until then, I’m going to keep lovin’ ‘em all.