Song of the Week: Accentuate the Positive, 1944

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
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
Do you hear me, hmm?

(Oh, listen to me children and-a you will hear
About the elininatin' of the negative
And the accent on the positive)
And gather 'round me children if you're willin'
And sit tight while I start reviewin'
The attitude of doin' right

(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 (up to the maximum)
Bring gloom (down) down to the minimum
Otherwise (otherwise) pandemonium
Liable to walk upon the scene

To illustrate (well illustrate) my last remark (you got the floor)
Jonah in the whale, Noah in the ark
What did they say (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! Don't mess with Mister In-Between


"Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive,” published in 1944, features music by the famous Harold Arlen and lyrics by the celebrated Johnny Mercer. By 1945, this plucky song remained at the top of the charts for 13 weeks. With its positive lyrics and reminder to focus on the good in life, this was the song the world needed in the years following the Second World War. Now a beloved standard, the song has been recorded by some of the world’s most popular artists.

This 1945 recording by Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers was one of the first and most enjoyed recordings of the song and demonstrates Mercer’s desire to couch the song in terms of a sermon.