Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

• Genesis 2:18

Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
    But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

• Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Though my father and mother forsake me,
    the Lord will receive me.

• Psalm 27:10

But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

• Luke 5:16

“[Intro]
The torch I carry is handsome
It’s worth its heartache in ransom
And when the twilight steals
I know how the lady in the harbor feels

[Verse 1]
When I want rain, I get sunny weather
I’m just as blue as the sky
Since love is gone, can’t pull myself together

[Refrain]
Guess I’ll hang my tears out to dry

[Verse 2]
Friends ask me out, I tell them I’m busy
I must get a new alibi
I stay at home and ask myself, “Who is he?”

[Refrain]
Guess I’ll hang my tears out to dry

[Verse 3]
Dry, little tear drops, my little tear drops
Hanging on a string of dreams
Fly, little mem’ries, my little mem’ries
Remind her of our crazy schemes

[Verse 4]
Somebody said “Just forget about her”
So I gave that treatment a try
Strangely enough, I got along without her
Then one day she passed me right by
Oh well

[Refrain]
I guess I’ll hang my tears out to dry”

• Sammy Cahn, I Guess I’ll Hang my Tears to Dry

For a little background on this song, it was first sung by Jane Withers in a musical in Boston, but even with a good pedigree, the musical flopped before making it to Broadway.  Incidentally, Jane Withers had been a prominent child star in the movie, at this time about 18 years old.  Jane Withers was one of the few that made a successful transition as an adult star, but preferred to be the mother of five children.  A devout Christian, she taught Sunday school at the Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church, along with a couple of other movie stars.  You might know Jane Withers for her role as Josephine the plumber, advertising Comet cleanser, one of the longest running characters in TV commercials at the time – even taking a course in plumbing to be more authentic.  But with no recordings of the stage performance, the first recording was by Harry James and his orchestra (Kitty Kallen as his singer) and soon after Frank Sinatra.  Enough singers recorded the song to make it a jazz standard.  The latest singer of note was Seth MacFarlane.

In a way, this song is so outdated.  Many neighborhoods have rules against hanging clothes out to dry in the backyard.  Thus, do the younger generations even know about hanging anything on a clothesline, using clothes pins, so that they can dry?

And what do you get when you hang tears out to dry?  A salty clothes pin?

But the song paints a picture of being alone.  A lot would have to change, especially rewriting the last verse, if this would ever become a worship song, but it shows the life of a reclusive person quite well.

After a while, you think you do not need anyone else, but all of us Christians and non-believers need someone, just for human contact.  But that takes effort, and for the recluse, that effort seems overpowering.

Church programs can give those reclusive church members a chance to be around others, but what of the ones that simply disappear?

The Scriptures are filled with God exhorting people to care for widows and orphans, but sometimes, those who need help the most are too proud to accept charity.

But we are never truly alone with God in us.  Even Jesus sought quiet places to pray.  We must not make that quiet place our only place.

Here is Kitty Kallen with Harry James singing I Guess I’ll Hang my Tears Out to Dry.  Harry James plays his powerful trumpet for the first minute and twenty seconds.

Here is Seth MacFarlane singing I Guess I’ll Hang my Tears Out to Dry.  This one has the intro used by Frank Sinatra.

For those that are lonely, we must get out of that comfort zone to be with others.  And for those who have that person who lives alone in their neighborhood or church family, it would not hurt to knock on the door on occasion.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.