It turns out Michael Jackson's favourite song wasn't one of his own.
It was Smile , a tune written by Charlie Chaplin and performed with aching emotion by Jermaine Jackson, which ultimately stood as the musical crescendo of yesterday's memorial.
Its message of hope trumping adversity is almost childlike. So were the rest of the songs that served as the soundtrack to Mr. Jackson's troubled life, so that there were moments when the show felt like one long lullaby.
The underlying message, intended or not, was that the world was mourning the passing of an innocent soul, not just a popular-music star.
In these final moments, Mr. Jackson wasn't meant to be remembered for his moonwalk or his crotch-grabbing.
His biggest hits, like Billie Jean and Thriller , had no place in this program.
Instead, a chorus of gospel hymns, ballads and soul tunes evoked memories of Mr. Jackson long before the Demerol and plastic surgery took hold.
Mariah Carey sang I'll Be There , a soul song by the Jackson 5 that was a chart-topper when Michael was 12. We Are The World , the finale, was performed by a star-studded chorus, and was meant to highlight Mr. Jackson's life offstage - the good parts, that is - his charitable work.
Usher gave an emotional rendition of Gone Too Soon , written by Mr. Jackson as a tribute to AIDS survivors.
Mr. Jackson's long-time friend, Stevie Wonder, sang Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer , a song he originally wrote about a bitter-break up.
There was a video montage of Mr. Jackson's supernatural dance moves, but more lingering attention was aid to footage of him as a cherub-faced 10-year-old on The Ed Sullivan Show wearing a pink hat only slightly less ridiculous than his talent.
There were also unmistakable musical allusions to Mr. Jackson as Christ - long-suffering, persecuted on Earth and ultimately sacrificial.
As his golden casket was carried into the crowd, a choir sang Andraé Crouch's Soon And Very Soon .
"Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King," the choir sang.
And everybody craned to get a look.