Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

• Luke 2:14

“But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day.

• 1 Kings 8:27-28

Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
    the whole earth is full of his glory.”

• Isaiah 6:2-3

Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:
“‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,’
who was, and is, and is to come.”

• Revelation 4:8

“At words poetic, I’m so pathetic
That I always have found it best
Instead of getting ’em off my chest
To let ’em rest unexpressed
I hate parading my serenading
As I’ll probably miss a bar
But if this ditty is not so pretty
At least it’ll tell you
How great you are

You’re the top!
You’re the Coliseum
You’re the top!
You’re the Louver Museum
You’re a melody from a symphony by Strauss
You’re a Bendel bonnet
A Shakespeare’s sonnet
You’re Mickey Mouse
You’re the Nile
You’re the Tower of Pisa
You’re the smile on the Mona Lisa
I’m a worthless check, a total wreck, a flop
But if, baby, I’m the bottom, you’re the top

You’re the top
You’re Mahatma Gandhi
You’re the top
You’re Napoleon Brandy
You’re the purple light
Of a summer night in Spain
You’re the National Gallery
You’re Garbo’s salary
You’re cellophane

You’re sublime
You’re a turkey dinner
You’re the time of a Derby winner
I’m a toy balloon that’s fated soon to pop
But if, baby, I’m the bottom
You’re the top

You’re the top
You’re an Arrow collar
You’re the top
You’re a Coolidge dollar
You’re the nimble tread
Of the feet of Fred Astaire
You’re an O’Neill drama
You’re Whistler’s mama
You’re camembert

You’re a rose
You’re Inferno’s Dante
You’re the nose
On the great Durante
I’m just in the way
As the French would say, “de trop”
But if, baby, I’m the bottom
You’re the top

You’re the top
You’re a Waldorf salad
You’re the top
You’re a Berlin ballad
You’re the baby grand of a lady and a gent
You’re an Old Dutch master
You’re Mrs. Aster
You’re Pepsodent

You’re romance
You’re the steppes of Russia
You’re the pants on a Roxy usher
I’m a lazy lout, who’s just about to stop
But if, baby, I’m the bottom
You’re the top”

• Cole Porter, You’re the Top

While some of the “top” things in the song are a little dated, should we not look toward God in this manner, at least at times?  You know, “Dear Lord, I’m the bottom; You’re the Top!”

And if we don’t have some up-to-date comparisons, we aren’t trying.

As for the nose belonging to Jimmy Durante, I remember it well, but Durante passed away in 1980.  I think the nose had its own zip code.  But he has passed.  No more “Inka Dinka Doo.”  No more fading of sequential spotlights as he walked from the stage and turned to doff his hat.  And Mrs. Calabash will never again hear, “Goodnight, Mrs. Calabash. … Wherever you are.”

When this song was written, I might agree with Mickey Mouse.  Walt Disney was probably the voice at that time.  Not so much anymore.  But then again, most animations these days are things I might not consider the “Top.”

But too often, we are too proud of ourselves to humble ourselves before God.

And too often we get so busy with ourselves, our projects, and our self-worth, to think that all of that would not be possible without God.

We are nothing without God.

Here is Ella Fitzgerald singing You’re the Top.  I love her enunciation.  Cole Porter is one of her composers that she recorded “song books,” making an album of the greatest hits for that composer.  You can still purchase song books by Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, the Gershwins, and Rodgers and Hart.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.