This is dating me, but I used to watch the show Good Times. It’s a comedy-drama, created by Norman Lear, about a poor family living in the projects of New York.
I remember the opening credits song as happy one, upbeat and peppy. I have come to realize that I didn’t actually know the lyrics. Coincidentally, I just saw them and they made my eyes pop open. Here they are:
Good Times.
Any time you meet a payment.
Good Times.
Any time you need a friend.
Good Times.
Any time you’re out from under.
Not getting hassled, not getting hustled.
Keepin’ your head above water,
Making a wave when you can.
Temporary lay offs.
Good Times.
Easy credit rip offs.
Good Times.
Scratchin’ and survivin’.
Good Times.
Hangin’ in and jivin’
Good Times.
Ain’t we lucky we got ’em
Good Times.
[Closing Theme]
Mmmmmm
Just lookin’ out of the window
Watchin’ the asphalt grow
Thinkin’ how it all looks hand-me-down
Good Times, yeah, yeah Good Times
Keepin’ your head above water
Makin’ a wave when you can
Temporary lay offs
Good Times
Ain’t we lucky we got ’em
Good Times
This is pretty distressing to me now. I can’t believe I never noticed it as a kid. “Watching the asphalt grow” – that is rough. I think maybe I was just too young to know what was happening.
UPDATE: I am turning off comments for this post. This is not twitter.
Comments
25 responses to “Good Times Theme Song”
I’ve been watching the show community and one day I had the captions on for theme. What the hell does it mean and how does this have anything to do with this show. https://www.lyricsondemand.com/tvthemes/communitylyrics.html
🤷🏻♂️
That is not the theme song to Good Times.
Chic is a dusco band who sang the song, Goid Times
*Disco
*Good
I had to respond to this. The lyrics, like most TV themes of the times, set the stage for the show. They informed the viewer, like exposition in a film. Every line is relatable to people living from paycheck to paycheck. It was the theme song and I know the Bergmans wrote it. Doesn’t change anything. I watched it every week. It was a family struggling and the show, like all Lear’s shows, challenged stereotypes prevalent in the media, especially of that era, especially of the missing Black father. There’s no mystery here. The Dad was there.They loved each other. It was a miracle to even see this segment of the population represented on TV at all. Most commercials didn’t even have Black people in them for a lot of my childhood. I guess you had to be there because it was a totally different world.
Living in the ghetto sometimes you don’t have the luxury of watching the grass grow. You live in the projects, asphalt instead of grass.
Living in the ghetto, just getting by. You know Food, a car, health care, a decent paying job,
As a young child, Good Times was one of my favorite shows and I still like watching it today even though I never understood why it was called good times because they never made it out of the ghetto, but loved the show anyway.
Ohh, yes they did make it out of the Ghetto!!!
They moved to North Shores on Baker Street,
The final episode is called; “The end of the rainbow”
It was Chicago not New York City. All the exterior shots were of Cabrini Green
👍
Definitely Chicago…Florida said it just yesterday!!”
Although the show as call “Good Times” and there never seemed to be any, I love the fact that they made the best of what they had, each other. That’s the meaning of “Good Times. Being thankful for having a loving family despite their financial strong hold. I love this show till this day. James Evans reminds me of my Dad, while growing up in the 70’s & 80’s. Ironically, my dads name was James too.
So true, making the best of the little that we do have, and not forsaking the love that binds everything together.
I know all black people loved good time, because we understood the concept of Good Times.
Actually no, most of us know that a white man wrote that show. It never made you wonder why they got rid of all of the black fathers? Do you think that a white man had our best interest? Oppression starts in the mind!
A bit of blaming going on there. Depending on the situation, a white man might just as soon blame a black man for his trouble. 13% committing 50% of crime? Who suffers because of whom?
This is a ridiculous comment. I’m sick of this one post getting all the comments. I’m going to turn it off for this post.
Who “got rid of black fathers”? I think most of them “got rid” of THEMSELVES from family responsibilities. There was always a choice. It hasn’t changed much, and is so far more prevalent among blacks than ANY other race— it makes clear that placing blame on the white man (or anyone else) is just a sorry cop-out.
Mass incarceration of black men. Institutional racism for centuries. Don’t be racist or ignorant on this blog please.
There’s been a little discrepancy over the years about a line in the opening song hangin in and jivin or hangin in a chow line??….and also original lyrics were changed so as not to embarrass black people…such as lookin into the hallway watchin the roaches crawl and landlord nobody’s fool lives on other side of town…
Watching it right now. The episode where James died,and Florida was told over the phone..”Damn! Damn! DAMN!!” That was so so SAD to watch! I felt it,she was a good actress.
I remember that. Yeah, heartbreaking.
She was told by Telegram message. Most kids don’t know about that, that’s the old school text message haha
The show was set in Chicago, not New York.