DESCRIPTION:
Harry Roy & His Orchestra plays Cole Porter's "You're the Top"

Here are the lyrics to Cole Porter's "You're the Top" (1934)

Cole Porter sings "You're the Top" (1934)

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 Louvre Museum.
You're the melody from a symphony by Strauss.
You're a Bendel bonnet,
A Shakespeare sonnet,
You're Mickey Mouse!
You're the Nile! You're the Tow'r 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 the 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. Astor,
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 that's just about to stop

But if, baby, I'm the bottom,
You're the top!

Sound file done by Cary Ginell.

Bendel bonnet = fashionable bonnet named for its designer, Henri Bendel (1868-1936).

About Garbo = after the success of Flesh and the Devil (1927), Greta Garbo demanded that MGM raise her salary from $600 per week to $5,000 per week.

Arrow collar = a line of detachable men's collars best remembered for a successful advertising campaign.

Roxy ushers dressed in quasi-military garb and participated in military-style drills.