Johnny Mercer

Johnny Mercer, New York, N.Y., between 1946 and 1948 (Photograph by William P. Gottlieb)

John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American songwriter and singer.

Sourced

• [My] publicity agent … went to hear Father Divine and he had a sermon and his subject was 'you got to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.' And I said 'Wow, that's a colorful phrase!'
  • Interviewed 1971 by Gilliland, John. Pop Chronicles the 40's: The Lively Story of Pop Music in the 40's. ISBN 978-1-55935-147-8. OCLC 31611854.  Tape 1, side B.
    • Quoted by MacKenzie, Bob (29 October 1972). "'40s Sounds Return to Radio" (PDF). Oakland Tribune. Retrieved on 3 April 2009. 

Song Lyrics

• So you met someone who set you back on your heels - goody, goody
  You met someone and now you know how it feels - goody, goody
  • Song: "Goody Goody" (1936)

• I know all the songs that the cowboys know
  'bout the big corral where the doggies go,
  'Cause I learned them all on the radio.
  Yippie yi yo kayah
  • Song "I'm an old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande)" (1936)

• From Natchez to Mobile, from Memphis to St. Joe, wherever the four winds blow
  I been in some big towns an' heard me some big talk, but there is one thing I know
  A woman's a two-face, a worrisome thing who'll leave ya to sing the blues in the night.
  • Song: "Blues in the Night" (1941)

• I remember too, a distant bell...
  and stars that fell...
  like the rain
  out of the blue.
  • Song: "I Remember You" (1941)

• When my life is through
  And the angels ask me to recall
  The thrill of them all
  Then I shall tell them
  I remember you
  • Song: "I Remember You"

• Skylark,
  Have you seen a valley green with Spring
  Where my heart can go a-journeying,
  Over the shadows in the rain
  To a blossom covered lane?
  And in your lonely flight,
  Haven't you heard the music in the night,
  Wonderful music,
  Faint as a will-o-the-wisp,
  Crazy as a loon,
  Sad as a gypsy serenading the moon.
  • Song: "Skylark" (1942)

• You got to ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive
  E-lim-i-nate the negative
  And latch on to the affirmative.
  Don't mess with mister inbetween.
  • Song: "Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive" (1944)

• Shine little glow-worm, glimmer, glimmer.
  Shine little glow-worm, glimmer, glimmer.
  Lead us lest too far we wander.
  Love's sweet voice is calling yonder.
  • Song: "The Glow-Worm" (1952)

• Cigarette holder,
  which wigs me,
  over her shoulder
  she digs me:
  Out cattin'
  that Satin Doll.
  • Song: "Satin Doll" (1953)

• The days of wine and roses laugh and run away like a child at play
  Through the meadow land toward a closing door
  A door marked "nevermore" that wasn't there before
  • Song: "Days of Wine and Roses" (first recorded 1961)

• There's a long goodbye,
  and it happens every day,
  when a passerby
  invites your eye
  to come away.
  Even as you smile a quick hello
  you let her go,
  you let the moment fly...
  Too late you turn your head,
  you know you've said
  the Long Goodbye.
  • Song: "The Long Goodbye" (1973)