April 19, 2010

Ac Cent Tuate The Pos it ive


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 positive

Eliminate 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