The 1944 standard by Johnny Mercer recommended that we "accentuate the positive and latch on to the affirmative".
This is essentially the same life philosophy which is endorsed on Make Believing. It is a concept album of sorts in that the recurring theme is of looking on the bright side and making hay while the sun shines.
Whether the choice is between falling or flying, hoping or despairing, sinking or swimming, Annie Keating chooses the positive option every time. She brings an unapologetic optimism to eleven original songs in which she dares to hope for a world in which love endures and decent human values are transcendent.
She goes so far as to imagine a day with no bad news (One Good Morning) and a place where the "highway turns to sand" that never feels lonely (Lost Girls).
If all this sounds like head in the clouds nonsense, rest assured that Ms Keating is well aware that life is a balancing act that too often tilts towards negativity.
Her point is not that marvelling at the blue skies or frolicking in the green grass will negate life's woes; she is simply reminding us that pessimism is not always the best default option.
The signs from the funfair (as pictured on the CD cover) promise 'Wonder' and 'Thrills' but she is under no illusion that these offer anything more than transient pleasures.
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Nevertheless, as the songs Coney Island and Sunny Dirt Road make clear, she affirms that even the temporary experience of leaving your cares behind is still worth pursuing.
Only Still Broken veers towards a slightly bleaker perspective, recognising that time is not always a healer.
The summation of her philosophy comes with two versions of the same song which for some reason have different titles: Know How To Fall and If You Want To Fly. This relates that there is "no joy without some heartache" and no success unless you are prepared to make mistakes.
Warmth and honesty are Annie Keating's strengths and these really come through on a set of songs which were recorded live with her band in Atomic Sound studio near her home in Brooklyn.
Her perspective may be resolutely homespun but there's plenty of worldly wisdom behind the simple messages.
Annie Keating's website
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