I was riding with a friend last week talking about what the month of July is all about.  She immediately said in a rhythm, “It is a month to “Accentuate the positive! You know, like the song.”  I did not know the song but I did think the message is perfect inspiration for July!

After I enjoyed listening to the song, I began to investigate.  In 1944, Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers released the instantly popular song called “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive” which was nominated for “Best Song” in 1945.  The music was written by Harold Arlen and the lyrics by Mercer.  The upbeat words were written one year before WWII ended.  People were getting weary and looked to music for inspiration and positive confirmation that the world was going to be good again.  During an interview with Pop Chronicles radio, Mercer explained his sermon style song was inspired when a friend of Mercer’s went to hear the great Harlem evangelist, Father Divine preach.  Divine’s powerful sermon implied ‘you got to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.’ Mercer said, “Wow, that’s a powerful phrase!” and wrote it down on a piece of paper.  The song sat whirling around in his subconscious for five years, until just at the perfect moment when he heard the perfect tune to add the “powerful phrase’ to.  It has remained a beloved tune and enjoyed great success through the years.

When words hit a positive note, people respond and continue to use them over and over.  Mercer’s song has been covered by the greats over the years such as Frank Sinatra, Patti Page, Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, and I cannot leave out New Orleans own Dr. John in 1989.  Even Paul McCartney’s Tribute to the Classics album featured this wonderful song and message.

Music is a powerful way to communicate and allows us to feel nearly or possibly all emotions that we experience in our lives.  Just like the needle on the record player followed groves in the album, words to a song create grooves in our brain, subconsciously as well as consciously.  Music provides us with an entertaining form of repetition that transcends through all languages.  It is a way for people of all cultures to share emotions even though their languages may be mutually incomprehensible. It activates memory and is a prominent part of growing our cultural identity.

July 2021 is a powerful month for self-expression. Under the influence of the number 3, we are being asked to be honest with ourselves about what we want.  It is a time to make your voice heard and share your talents.  Your imagination is your source of creativity!  No matter what creative outlet you choose, this month’s energies help create the vision and the channel of creative power to others as well.  Harnessing the power of the month serves to improve the quality of our life.

With group activities taking the forefront, it might sound contradictory to point out that independent thought and action are also standing their ground on the front line of the month’s potentials.  Following our own inner voice and heart, instead of the societal “should,” decreases conflicts dramatically in all areas and surprisingly brings fresh energy to any subject, group, community, or family!

Music is unifying! Great music shares many elements that make for great associations. It emphasizes reputation that is comforting to our minds and soul. Plus, harmony, rhythms, pace, and the discipline of all elements working to a singular end.

Positive messages seem even more positive whether they are sung alone, with friends or by professionals.  Music is always there when you need it.  Even though we are not emerging from a traditional war, as we work our way out of a pandemic, pick out your favorite music and reconnect with those feelings.  Give it your best shot to “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive!”

Love to All,

Cindi

Song by Johnny Mercer

Lyrics

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.

“Music, once admitted to the soul, becomes a sort of spirit and never dies.” -Edward Bulwer-Lytton.