McCorkle was born in Berkeley, California. She studied modern languages at the University of California, Berkeley. McCorkle began singing professionally after hearing recordings of Billie Holiday in Paris in the late 1960s. She nearly became an interpreter at the European Commission in Brussels, but moved instead to London in 1972 to pursue a career in singing. While in the UK, she made two albums which, although well received, enjoyed only limited circulation.
In the late 1970s, McCorkle returned to the United States and settled in New York City, where a five-month engagement at the Cookery in Greenwich Village brought her to wider public attention and elicited rave reviews from critics.
During the 1980s, McCorkle continued to record; her maturing style and the darkening timbre of her voice greatly enhanced her performances. In the early 1990s, two of the albums McCorkle made for Concord Records, No More Blues and Sábia, were enormously successful and made her name known to the wider world. She was recorded by the Smithsonian Institution which at the time made her the youngest singer ever to have been included in its popular music series. McCorkle played Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher and Alice Tully Halls five times and Carnegie Hall three times, and was featured soloist with Skitch Henderson and the 80-piece New York Pops in a concert of Brazilian music.
Thanks to her linguistic skills, McCorkle translated lyrics of Brazilian, French, and Italian songs, notably those for her Brazilian album Sabia. McCorkle also had several short stories published and, in 1991, began work on her first novel. She published fiction in Mademoiselle, Cosmopolitan Magazine, and non-fiction in the New York Times Magazine and in American Heritage, including lengthy articles on Ethel Waters, Bessie Smith, Irving Berlin and Mae West.
McCorkle suffered for many years from depression and cancer, and took her own life at age 55 by leaping off the balcony of her highrise Manhattan apartment. She was alone in her home at the time. The police immediately entered her home after identifying her body and found no foul play. Suicide was ruled the cause of death.
Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive
Susannah McCorkle Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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
(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
The song "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive" by Susannah McCorkle is all about the power of positive thinking. The lyrics suggest that one should focus on the positive aspects of life and eliminate negative thoughts and attitudes. The song also emphasizes the importance of taking action and being proactive in shaping one's own reality, rather than allowing negative influences to infiltrate one's life.
One of the key messages of the song is that one's attitude can greatly impact one's circumstances. The lyrics encourage listeners to spread joy and minimize gloom, as well as have faith in the face of difficult situations. In addition, the song draws attention to the idea that there is a small margin for error when it comes to choosing whether to focus on positive or negative thinking - if one doesn't actively choose the positive, they are likely to be swept away by the negative.
Overall, "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive" is a catchy and uplifting tune that highlights the importance of positivity, proactivity, and a can-do attitude.
Line by Line Meaning
You've got to accentuate the positive
Focus on the good things in life
Eliminate the negative
Avoid negativity and bad influences
Latch on to the affirmative
Embrace positivity and optimism
Don't mess with Mister In-Between
Don't be indecisive, choose one way or the other
You've got to spread joy up to the maximum
Make others happy and spread positivity as much as possible
Bring gloom down to the minimum
Minimize negative thoughts and emotions
Have faith or pandemonium
Believe in the good things in life or chaos will ensue
Liable to walk upon the scene
Negativity can easily invade and take over one's life
To illustrate his last remark
As an example of this advice
Jonah in the whale, Noah in the ark
Biblical stories of faith and perseverance
What did they do
How did they handle their difficult situations
Just when everything looked so dark
At their lowest moments
Man, they said we better
They realized the importance of positivity and faith
No, do not mess with Mister In-Between
Don't be trapped in indecision and negativity
Oh, listen to me children and-a you will hear
Listen to this advice and learn from it
About the elininatin' of the negative
Eliminating negativity in one's life
And the accent on the positive
Focusing on positivity and good things
And gather 'round me children if you're willin'
Come together and listen if you're open to it
And sit tight while I start reviewin'
Listen closely and focus on the advice
The attitude of doin' right
The importance of having a positive attitude
Otherwise pandemonium liable to walk upon the scene
If one doesn't embrace positivity, negativity can easily take over
To illustrate my last remark
As an example of this advice
You got the floor
It's your turn to contribute to the conversation
What did they say
How did they respond to their difficult situations
Say when everything looked so dark
At their lowest moments
No! Don't mess with Mister In-Between
Don't be trapped in indecision and negativity
Contributed by Violet Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.