Forget your troubles, come on get happy
You better chase all your cares away
Shout Hallelujah, come on get happy
Get ready for the judgment day
The sun is shining, come on get happy
The Lord is waiting to take your hand
Shout Hallelujah, come on get happy
We're going to the Promised Land
We're heading 'cross the river
Wash your sins away in the tide
It's all so peaceful
On the other side
These are the lyrics to the song Get Happy, which was composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics written by Ted Koehler. It echoes themes of a Christian evangelical revivalist meeting song. It was the first song they wrote together, and was introduced by Ruth Etting in The Nine-Fifteen Revue in 1930.
Influenced by the Get Happy tradition, it is most associated with Judy Garland, who performed it in her last MGM film Summer Stock (1950) and in live concert performances throughout the rest of her life. The versions from Summer Stock finished at #61 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema.
Get Happy is a term used in the African American Gospel Music tradition, that refers to the experience of receiving the Holy Spirit during a Church service, usually involving ecstatic singing, or during prayer, or spontaneously.
Last week I posted about the song Accentuate the Positive and wrote that I had made it my theme song. Get Happy is another piece in the soundtrack. It is a reminder that we should be happy because of the gospel. Here is a video of Garland performing the song in Summer Stock:
Shout Hallelujah, come on get happy
Get ready for the judgment day
The sun is shining, come on get happy
The Lord is waiting to take your hand
Shout Hallelujah, come on get happy
We're going to the Promised Land
We're heading 'cross the river
Wash your sins away in the tide
It's all so peaceful
On the other side
These are the lyrics to the song Get Happy, which was composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics written by Ted Koehler. It echoes themes of a Christian evangelical revivalist meeting song. It was the first song they wrote together, and was introduced by Ruth Etting in The Nine-Fifteen Revue in 1930.
Influenced by the Get Happy tradition, it is most associated with Judy Garland, who performed it in her last MGM film Summer Stock (1950) and in live concert performances throughout the rest of her life. The versions from Summer Stock finished at #61 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema.
Get Happy is a term used in the African American Gospel Music tradition, that refers to the experience of receiving the Holy Spirit during a Church service, usually involving ecstatic singing, or during prayer, or spontaneously.
Last week I posted about the song Accentuate the Positive and wrote that I had made it my theme song. Get Happy is another piece in the soundtrack. It is a reminder that we should be happy because of the gospel. Here is a video of Garland performing the song in Summer Stock:
Al Fox Carraway is an example of someone who is happy because of the gospel. Al, often referred to as the "Tattooed Mormon," wrote that this label resulted from the title of a post she wrote for her blog "In the Head of Al." In her book More than the Tattooed Mormon she writes that she would rather be known as the "Happy Mormon," because of the joy the gospel of Jesus Christ has given her. The label fits, for her joy and happiness are infectious. Recently, she posted on Facebook:
Embrace yourself, your life and your role—whatever it is that it may be. Keep being you. Keep laughing. Keep praying. Keep trying.
Your life has purpose. It has deep meaning. It has Godly help & support available at every stage of your life.
And we do not need to be any more of anything to feel of Him, to be loved by Him and receive the best ever created by Him
Don't exhaust yourselves to live up to this "perfect" image someone else created for your life. Stop thinking perfect is a thing, you guys, it's not a thing & don't drink the poison of comparison.
Because life is too short not to love the journey God has for you.
Because life is too short not to see yourself the way He sees you.
And who He sees you as is someone capable of becoming like Him.
And. that. is. everything.
Enjoy it—because it’s happening.
So, I have a group on Facebook with the title Good Tidings For Us, which is meant to tie in to this blog. If you scroll through the group you will find that I have shared a lot of things posted by Al Fox Carraway. I really like her because of her infectious joy and happiness. Her posts are another reminder that I am supposed to be happy.
To be happy, we need to choose happiness; this is an idea that has been floating around for the last few years. But the choice is not always easy, if ever it is. So, how do we choose happiness?
On the way to Gethsemane, Jesus said to his disciples, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
“The unimaginable agony of Gethsemane was about to descend upon Jesus; Judas’ betrayal was imminent," wrote Elder Neal A. Maxwell. "Then would come Jesus’ arrest and arraignment; the scattering of the Twelve like sheep; the awful scourging of the Savior; the unjust trial; the mob’s shrill cry for Barabbas instead of Jesus; and then the awful crucifixion on Calvary. What was there to be cheerful about? Just what Jesus said: He had overcome the world! The atonement was about to be a reality. The resurrection of all mankind was assured. Death was to be done away with -- Satan had failed to stop the atonement.”
Camille Fronk Olson added in the July 2011 Ensign, "Christ’s enabling power helps us feel happiness and cheer amid mortal gloom and doom. Misfortune and hardship lose their tragedy when viewed through the lens of the Atonement. The process could be explained this way: The more we know the Savior, the longer our view becomes. The more we see His truths, the more we feel His joy."
She went on to say that "Cheerfulness in the scriptural context connotes a divinely assured optimism, 'a deep trust in God’s unfolding purposes,' a grounded conviction that God will always keep His promises. When Christ proclaims, 'Be of good cheer,' He is not requesting a naïve, Pollyanna-like response to life’s cruel twists and turns. Nor is He promising a pain-free life of constant bliss. Trial is no respecter of persons. Tragedy and hardship do not discriminate. . . . True happiness and satisfaction are found only by turning away from the world and coming to Christ."
In a March 2016 BYU devotional, Elder Larry R. Lawrence stated, “Happiness is the purpose of our existence” and “I am convinced that more than anything else, our Heavenly Father wants His children to be happy.” Among the ways we can choose to be happy, according to Elder Lawrence, are “smiling more often, expressing gratitude, looking for and praising the good in others, welcoming the newcomer, and reaching out to those who need a friend.”
It is essential to express our gratitude to our Heavenly Father, and then we should thank our family and friends. “We often take for granted the very people who most deserve our gratitude. Let us not wait until it is too late for us to express gratitude,” said Elder Lawrence, quoting President Thomas S. Monson’s October 2010 general conference address.
For the last year or so, I have been struggling with some very big challenges, and happiness has been fleeting at best. The question, "What is there to be cheerful about?" has often been difficult to answer. My desire now is to make a better effort at accentuating the positive and choosing happiness.
The sun is shining, come on get happy
The Lord is waiting to take your hand
Embrace yourself, your life and your role—whatever it is that it may be. Keep being you. Keep laughing. Keep praying. Keep trying.
Your life has purpose. It has deep meaning. It has Godly help & support available at every stage of your life.
And we do not need to be any more of anything to feel of Him, to be loved by Him and receive the best ever created by Him
Don't exhaust yourselves to live up to this "perfect" image someone else created for your life. Stop thinking perfect is a thing, you guys, it's not a thing & don't drink the poison of comparison.
Because life is too short not to love the journey God has for you.
Because life is too short not to see yourself the way He sees you.
And who He sees you as is someone capable of becoming like Him.
And. that. is. everything.
Enjoy it—because it’s happening.
So, I have a group on Facebook with the title Good Tidings For Us, which is meant to tie in to this blog. If you scroll through the group you will find that I have shared a lot of things posted by Al Fox Carraway. I really like her because of her infectious joy and happiness. Her posts are another reminder that I am supposed to be happy.
To be happy, we need to choose happiness; this is an idea that has been floating around for the last few years. But the choice is not always easy, if ever it is. So, how do we choose happiness?
On the way to Gethsemane, Jesus said to his disciples, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
“The unimaginable agony of Gethsemane was about to descend upon Jesus; Judas’ betrayal was imminent," wrote Elder Neal A. Maxwell. "Then would come Jesus’ arrest and arraignment; the scattering of the Twelve like sheep; the awful scourging of the Savior; the unjust trial; the mob’s shrill cry for Barabbas instead of Jesus; and then the awful crucifixion on Calvary. What was there to be cheerful about? Just what Jesus said: He had overcome the world! The atonement was about to be a reality. The resurrection of all mankind was assured. Death was to be done away with -- Satan had failed to stop the atonement.”
Camille Fronk Olson added in the July 2011 Ensign, "Christ’s enabling power helps us feel happiness and cheer amid mortal gloom and doom. Misfortune and hardship lose their tragedy when viewed through the lens of the Atonement. The process could be explained this way: The more we know the Savior, the longer our view becomes. The more we see His truths, the more we feel His joy."
She went on to say that "Cheerfulness in the scriptural context connotes a divinely assured optimism, 'a deep trust in God’s unfolding purposes,' a grounded conviction that God will always keep His promises. When Christ proclaims, 'Be of good cheer,' He is not requesting a naïve, Pollyanna-like response to life’s cruel twists and turns. Nor is He promising a pain-free life of constant bliss. Trial is no respecter of persons. Tragedy and hardship do not discriminate. . . . True happiness and satisfaction are found only by turning away from the world and coming to Christ."
In a March 2016 BYU devotional, Elder Larry R. Lawrence stated, “Happiness is the purpose of our existence” and “I am convinced that more than anything else, our Heavenly Father wants His children to be happy.” Among the ways we can choose to be happy, according to Elder Lawrence, are “smiling more often, expressing gratitude, looking for and praising the good in others, welcoming the newcomer, and reaching out to those who need a friend.”
It is essential to express our gratitude to our Heavenly Father, and then we should thank our family and friends. “We often take for granted the very people who most deserve our gratitude. Let us not wait until it is too late for us to express gratitude,” said Elder Lawrence, quoting President Thomas S. Monson’s October 2010 general conference address.
For the last year or so, I have been struggling with some very big challenges, and happiness has been fleeting at best. The question, "What is there to be cheerful about?" has often been difficult to answer. My desire now is to make a better effort at accentuating the positive and choosing happiness.
The sun is shining, come on get happy
The Lord is waiting to take your hand
Shout Hallelujah, come on get happy
We're going to the Promised Land.
We're going to the Promised Land.
Sources:
Lawrence, L. R. (2016). "Choose Happiness." BYU Speeches. Accessed 6/10/2017 at https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/larry-r-lawrence_choose-happiness/
Olson, C. F. (2011) "Be of Good Cheer: Choosing Happiness." Ensign. Accessed 6/10/2017 at https://www.lds.org/ensign/2011/07/be-of-good-cheer-choosing-happiness?lang=eng
Wikipedia pages:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Happy_(song)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Happy_(gospel_music)
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