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Accentuate The Positive Lyrics

Artist: Johnny Mercer
Album: Accentuate The Positive

Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive

- Artist: Johnny Mercer as sung on "Remember the 40's-Music Of the War Years
Vol. IV, 1941-45" CEMA Special Markets (Capitol-EMI) CDL-57367
- peak Billboard position # 1 in 1945
- competing versions charted by Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters (#2),
Artie Shaw (#5), and Kay Kyser (#12)
- Words and Music by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer

Gather 'round me, everybody
Gather 'round me while I'm preachin'
Feel a sermon comin' on me
The topic will be sin and that's what I'm ag'in'
If you wanna hear my story
The settle back and just sit tight
While I start reviewin'
The attitude of doin' right

You've got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
And 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 my last remark
Jonah in the whale, Noah in the ark
What did they do just when everything looked so dark?

(Man, they said "We'd better accentuate the positive")
("Eliminate the negative")
("And latch on to the affirmative")
Don't mess with Mister In-Between (No!)
Don't mess with Mister In-Between

(Ya 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)

You got to ac (yes, yes) -cent-tchu-ate the positive
Eliminate (yes, yes) the negative
And latch (yes, yes) on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between
No, don't mess with Mister In-Between

Transcribed by Robin Hood

These lyrics were transcribed from the specific recording mentioned above
and do not necessarily correspond with lyrics from other recordings, sheet
music, songbooks or lyrics printed on album jackets.

Comments/Interpretations
by frank on 5/12/2008 11:52am what do you think Mercer meant by "...don't mess with mister in between....?"
by estephan on 5/21/2008 7:30pm don't mess with the neutral or sitting on the fence. don't mess with the half-ass sort of yes sort of no type of thing. just balls to the walls positivity. it really is doable.
by bmcmachugh@yahoo.ie on 5/22/2008 3:23pm great lyrics where can i get a cd dont messs with mr in between means be positive or negative and avoid the middle ground
by Nan on 5/25/2008 10:49pm dear boys, what Mr. Mercer was talking about is from the Bible. God said if you are neither hot nor cold (regarding him,} he will spew you out of his mouth. You're either his or not, no "mister in between"! Golly that seems to me to be even more hard hitting than the vulgar way estephan put it.
by Fiona on 6/11/2008 1:10pm I love this song. It makes me want to do something with my life!
by Dead Air on 6/13/2008 1:54am dear Nan, what Mr. Mercer was talking about was secular pop music drawing from gospel spirituality by pointing out to all of us that the Bible is full of vulgarity - that vulgarity must be recognized and even felt to be overcome. estaphan's interpretation is nothing more than updating it into current language, rather well, and much more in line with the idea of the song than a condemning shot might be.
by michaelgenung@earthlink.net on 6/15/2008 3:17am "Mr. In-Between" = indecisiveness or indecision, vascillating this way and that. The message: stay positive and don't get stuck in the negatives of the past. Learn from your mistakes of course but CHARGE into the future toward one's goals. Don't sit around "hung up in maybe this / maybe that." That's what I get out of it anyway.
by Liz on 7/7/2008 11:49pm I really like this song- but it doesn't make me want to do something w/ my life lol. However, it does make me want to sing!
by Adam Neira on 7/24/2008 1:44am The Messianic Motto is best described by these wonderful songlines written in a time of war, foreboding and quiet hop and grace.
by Kathy on 8/28/2008 11:04am Does anyone know if this song was ever in a Broadway Musical or Movie?
by Nadi on 10/10/2008 2:35pm Dont wess with mr. in between means dont mess with the nagative
by ray on 11/3/2008 12:45pm this should be a song for our times
by bdfn@hotmail.com on 12/22/2008 4:24pm This is definitely a song for our times. I agree with Michael, Mr. In-between is "indecisiveness" or "maybe" as those words are "no action" Mr. In-between is "doubt" and a person in "doubt" is hung up on an indecision and won't progress until he makes up his mind one way or another i.e. "the affirmative" "No" is not always negative, like "say no to drugs", this is a positive, and affirmative. "No, I don't want to be a slave" would be another example. Great song! One of the best artist for words of his time! Go Johnny Mercer!!
by PB S.F. on 2/19/2009 12:29pm Another interpretation: Don't impose values on others; don't condition people to adopt your way of thinking. The context and word-choice are important - "Don't mess with...", but rather, live your own life as best you know how. One can take the song as gospel, or as example. To be warned-off messing with the non-committed suggests openness rather than ideology.
by bill drax on 2/22/2009 4:11pm To answer Kathy's question, this song was from Paramount Pictures "Here Come The Waves" in 1944, was nominated for an Academy Award but did not win.
by Gerry on 2/27/2009 9:50am How do we get this song to our media people, press/TV/radio? They constantly "Accentuate the Negative". We are all aware of the present economy,due to their constant "gloom". Even when there is good news they end it with a "but", then add on ome "gloom". Get the media to "Accentuate The Positive" and advise them "Don"t mess with Mister-In-Between"
by ?? on 3/25/2009 5:07pm I love this song im singing it for chorus
by Dan on 4/30/2009 12:33pm Yes. Kathy, this tune was used in the opening credits of the 1998 film L.A. Confidential
by CRS on 5/14/2009 5:23pm I am using this song in my class. I teach design process.
by Carrie on 5/24/2009 2:36pm Has anyone ever heard Tony Bennett's remake of this? It is on an CD released in 1998 that is geared for children, called The Playground. It is great!
by Chops McCoy on 8/15/2009 12:32pm Just put on Dr. John's version and sang along using these lyrics. Boy, am I uplifted!
by unity03 on 9/10/2009 11:26pm I remember this song from the disney movie.. it was robin hood, right?
by Savvy on 9/25/2009 6:25pm I have no clue, all I know is I'm doing this song for the Winter Concert for Chorus. But, I had to change some of the words around, like "You've got to spread joy up to the maximum" should read "You've got to spread spread joy joy up to the maximum", and a few other things. But I really do enjoy this song, it's easy to sing but also very fun!
by kkkkk on 10/2/2009 3:54am so it doesn`t have any pictures dddddddddaaaaaaaaa~~~~..............
by Anton on 10/16/2009 12:26am I really hate this song, not so much the melody but the lyrics in particular.
by Martin on 11/8/2009 8:24am its a great song of its time and still gets our feet tapping! The expression'gospel'used by PBSF is interesting as that book is a long novel and written by various people[not by Nan's God] and is full of nonsense and borrowed myths. wonderful that Mercer should have found inspiration from a real person.

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