I've been hearing a lot of negative stuff from people lately who don't realize they're so full of bile yet I have to hear them out, so it was serendipitous to come across this Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer. song, sung here by Aretha Franklin, with phrasing lifted from Dinah Washington.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IP9h40z0sk
here are the words
You've got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between
You've got to spread joy up to the maximum
Bring gloom down to the minimum
Have faith or pandemonium's Liable to walk upon the scene
To illustrate his last remark Jonah in the whale, Noah in the ark
What did they do Just when everything looked so dark.
Man, they said we better Accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between
No, do not mess with Mister In-Between
You've gotta accentuate the positiveEliminate the negative Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between
You've got to spread joy
Bring gloom (down) down to the minimum Otherwise (otherwise) pandemonium Liable to walk upon the scene
To illustrate my last remark Jonah in the whale, Noah in the ark
What did they say
Say when everything looked so dark
Man, they said we better Accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between
No! Baby Don't mess with Mister In-Between
