I'm a black guy and I'm 34 years old and remembering this show growing up and it be in my head too, I mean hard, I can get ready for work and this song can give me motivation to work harder and even brighten my day! ❤
This theme song is timeless. The raw energy of fighting everyday for a place in this world. Doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from. Life is a struggle and having family and friends to get you through, is priceless. Thank You GOODTIMES!
That's my late Grandfather Leon on the bicycle in the closing credits of the show. He used to talk about that all the time, being a TV star because he was in the show lol. RIP G Leon.
Brought tears to my eyes because I remember the times me and my family struggled.. even in the midst, we still managed to make happy memories. #GoodTimes
I saw a documentary that showed people around the world that lived in poverty, and horrible conditions, yet, they were the happiest people you would ever meet. Why? The ONE thing they all had in common was a loving family. God Bless. :)
Man, it’s such a great theme song. The intro had the energy you felt when you stopped by a friend’s house, and the outro gave you the feeling that it was time to go home. It complimented the show so beautifully. These characters didn’t just feel real; they felt like your neighbors.
I am an Italian American. I remember watching these shows. It always made me think about the struggles of life and how we all have to find ways out to survive!
The theme of good times still resonates to this day...we're still s÷ing inflation, struggles to keep a roof over our heads, barely paying the bills,trying to stay on the right track..yet the spirit and happy memories we make with our loved ones the best we can...God bless you everyone stay strong and safe
So I *WAS RIGHT!* ...Mostly; I always heard: "Hangin' and ah jivin'!" Which is pretty dang close to: "Hangin' *IN* and jivin'!" I *KNEW* that mess about a "chow line" just didn't set right with me! *THANK YOU* for finally clearing this up!! I used to watch this early in the morning, right before Gumby, in the late 1980s when I was in Jr. High, in Cook County, Illinois, just outside of Chicago's West Side...just a few miles from where the intro was filmed, and where it was supposed to take place (though I'm guessing the interior shots were likely filmed in Hollywood, CA?). I had an ex that actually grew up in one of Chicago's more infamous projects, and she absolutely hated this program as it wasn't "true to life," but as I told her, it *IS* a fictional sitcom, that was mostly marketed towards an audience that not only had probably never even driven past a housing project, but had probably never lived in or near Chicago, or any other large Amerrican city....I mean do you think that "Leave it to Beaver" was a "realistic representation" of most families in the suburbs?! Absolutely not! This is why it's a fictional sitcom and not a real-life documentary!
@@dianarochelle3869 And YOU'RE BLACK, NAMED AFTER THE PREMIER MOTOWN ARTIST HERSELF, AND...both of them signed to Motown Records. A company you should be WELL VERSED IN. You need to change affiliations...NOW! Even I knew the words!
My Dad was very similar to James Evans. Very strict and you did get a spanking when you did something wrong. He, too, had a few different construction jobs to keep us going.
I'm 21, born in 2000, 40 years after the show ended. My dad loved this show growing up and he would always show it to us kids growing up, I'm so thankful for this show and my dad's appreciation and love for it too. Taught us many lessons and to always appreciate what you have and WHO you have!
Though some of the lyrics are utterly depressing, the composer ends each line with "Good times!" Reminding us there's always a way to dance through the fire. I loved this song as a child, and I cherish it as an adult ❤
I just now notice how sarcastic the song was but it was good times when u were going through rough times thats when family stuck together. Those time u had to have good times to lighten the mood of going through the rough times.
Any time you meet a payment, any time you meet a friend, you're out from under, not gettin' hassled, not gettin' hustled.....all sounds pretty good to me!
Although I didn't grow up in a ghetto, grew up middle class poor in the Pittsburgh suburbs, my white family, mainly my father went through similar circumstances of layoffs, quitting & firings. My mother worked a minimum wage job @ K Mart & held the family financially together!
Man I just had to listen to this again. It came to memory when I saw JayJay Walker on that commercial lol. Remember my childhood watching this, The Jefferson's, Sanford & Son, The Redd Foxx Show etc. I miss those days. They were so much better than nowadays. These shows were awesome then. They'll always be awesome!
Don't forget All in the Family, Emergency, Adam - 12, Mission Impossible, Star Trek, and a bunch more. The 70s kicked ass, musically and in Television!
it reminds me of my dad who passed away in 2019. I was 8 and SCN ( southern command network) started showing Good Times. I remenber him laughing, but most of all I remember the song, the intro, the faces.
From Wikipedia: Theme song and opening sequence The gospel-styled theme song was composed by Dave Grusin with lyrics written by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. It was sung by Jim Gilstrap and Motown singer Blinky Williams with a gospel choir providing background vocals. The lyrics to the theme song are notorious for being hard to discern, notably the line "Hangin' in a chow line"/"Hangin' in and jivin'" (depending on the source used). Dave Chappelle used this part of the lyrics as a quiz in his "I Know Black People" skit on Chappelle's Show in which the former was claimed as the answer.The insert for the Season One DVD box set has the lyric as "Hangin' in a chow line". However, the Bergmans confirmed that the lyric is actually "Hangin' in and jivin'." Slightly different lyrics were used for the closing credits, with the song beginning on a verse instead of the chorus.
yeah, I could never get that line. I thought it sounded like "hangin in a jara" no idea what that would mean. but hangin in and jivin makes much more sense
According to Wikipedia, the lyric is Hangin' in and jivin', "The Bergmans, [who wrote the lyrics] along with Bern Nadette Stanis, confirmed that the lyric is actually "Hangin' in and jivin'."
Surprised myself with the "hangin' in and jivin' ", but on the Outro credits, "Watching the escargot/Thinking how they’re almost hand-me-downs," was a BIG swing-and-a-miss when I was six (and this was long in syndication). But hey -- Moms happened to love escargot! 😂 Wonderful theme song -- thanks for the memories!!
Born in 61, I was still very young when Good Times was on the air. That song, oh that song, has always brought out something special in my soul. The memories just bring me back to a time in life which I call carefree. There were many problems I had while growing up a black male in America, problems of development accompanied by race and segregation for male children. Sometimes it hurt listening to this song, a soul sickness, the smell of enchantment with melancholy sickness flavor. The pain of being a black child in the 70s for some of us still hurt very much today, especially when you daydream of past memories.
Finally looked this up because of the Chappelle skit 12 years after I first saw it and even though I’ve never even seen this show, this intro/outro radiates a nostalgia that I’ve had about the Chicago I never got to see but have heard so much of. Everything about this song and the footage that it’s paired with is perfect.
I always thought it was "hanging in a Joliet" - as in the nearby city of Joliet where the shows takes place in Chicago... It makes no dang sense... but that's what I honestly thought... go figure...!!! (LOL) ... I still say this was one of the all-time best TV theme songs ever made.
it reminds me of my dad who passed away in 2019. I was 8 and SCN ( southern command network) started showing Good Times. I remenber him laughing, but most of all I remember the song, the intro, the faces.
The recent showing of All in the Family and The Jeffersons made me remember the fact that I never knew all of the words to Good Times. I had no idea of a lot of what they were saying. Thanks for posting because if I had not seen these subtitles, I NEVER would have figured out some parts of what was being said.
THANK YOu. I knew it wasnt that Chow line crap. But hangin in & Jivin, makes so much more sence, thats the slang that was spoken in the 70s. GOOD EAR. RAY, that was a real mystery for Good Times fans for a long time .
Naw even if it isn’t chow line that makes WAY more sense. That was a term also used at that time, and actually in that context unlike jiving. Hanging in and jiving is not the way that word was used
This just takes me back to when life was great. Most didn't care who or where you came from as long as you were good people with a good heart you were always welcome. Love all my brothers and sisters from every dam where
To all the people who thought that one line was “hangin’ in a chow line”….. even if we didn’t know the writers confirmed that’s wrong, it wouldn’t even make sense. The whole song is about working hard to beat a system stacked against them. Waiting in line for some free food would not make sense for a song about the working class “scratching and surviving.” The characters on the show were not homeless. They worked hard and took care of themselves.
My Mom who is 91 years old with dementia sent me here to be in a happy place with a great theme song like Good Times! Ain’t we lucky we got them, Good Times ohhhh yeah. There’s got to be a way of coping with Caregiving.
Absolutely awesome! Thank you for posting this! You are DY-NO-MITE!! I've waited almost FIFTY YEARS to get the correct and complete lyrics to this theme! They say all things come to those who wait, so it's lucky I'm a patient man!
I’m just gonna say if the people that actually wrote the song say it’s “hangin and a Jivin’ then damn it.. it’s hangin and a jivin’!! End of discussion.. period!!
Cubbie 410 well I did studio work and have song lyrics wrong and they kept it to keep down recording cost and it sounded great so it was ok but a lyrics sheet had opposite of what I said
Funny thing is, growing up in the projects in the 60s and 70s, everybody was dirt poor and struggling. We new we were poor, but it didn’t really matter. I got 4 brothers, and back then families stuck together..you had no choice. Lol. Our parents were married almost 60 years. 7 of us in a 2 bedroom project apartment, and we had the greatest upbringing you could ask for. Didn’t have any money, but sure had a lot of great times. Man, 50 years flew by!!!
One of the most underrated and greatest show to be on TV. The cast was Dynamite. Every episode had a positive message and values. Crazy thing is you can actually apply those lessons today. I can't believe Amazon Prime has all the episodes.
I fell in love with a gorgeous woman from the 18th floor projects, she was a lot of fun , some folks don't have a choice where they live but, GODAM there's beautiful people in the projects
loved this hook. This songs reminds you of all the good times you experience growing up. Many of us have forgotten these must have experiences. I never knew all the words, thank you'll for solving my mystery, temporary layoff, a good time
Still one of my very favorites… still watching it !! I loved everything about this show… the theme song story lines etc! So raw real and really funny!! Perfect cast… I loved every season but always missed John Amos ! He was such a big part of the show… I always loved the line… Junior I brought you in this world and I can take you out! 😅😂🤣😆 SUCH A CLASSIC SHOW!! 💙
“Daddy, can I have a raise in my allowance?” “Well how much am I giving you now, Junior?” “Nothin.” “Ok. I’ll double it.” “Yes! I’m gettin double allowance!”
Robert Taylor homes. Boy, do I remember them, and how you heard tragic stories about things happening there regularly on Chanel 9. Cabrini Green was something else! Now it's all gone.
Yes it did change drastically. You notice on the video, that the John Hancock tower is shown but no Sears Tower 'or as of recent, the Willis Tower' and that's because this sitcom must have debut in the few years between the completion of the Hancock tower and the Sears Tower. Here's something that blew my mind when I found out it was true. Cleveland's Terminal Tower was the tallest building in the world outside of New York City between 1928 when construction was completed, until 1964 when the Prudential Building was built in Boston. Back then Chicago did have a huge downtown. But it's buildings weren't the towering mega tall buildings that exist there today.
What kind of professional recording artist, being paid to record a specific song, with specific lyrics, would “take a little creative license” and just sing their own line? Also, the “chow line” thing makes NO sense. It’s a song about hard working blu collar families, not about homeless people in a shelter.
@@trekkiejunk because a chow line isn't just for homeless...its for anyone in need...they don't discriminate..sort of like the salvation army..all are welcome..and based on low income family in Chicago struggling to pay bills and put food on table..chow line makes sense
The Cabrini-green houses in Chicago. So awful that they demolished almost all the buildings starting in 1995. Only a few row houses remain from the original layout.
OMG! I tried to find this YEARS ago after seeing "Chappelle's Show", and nothing came up. I'm so glad someone eventually uploaded it, and we finally know what the ACTUAL lyric is. 😂 Edit: Actually, if you listen to it on slower speed, I think Chappelle is correct. I can't believe even with the lyrics on screen we're STILL disputing it😂
The lyrics to this theme song might be one of the greatest mysteries/urban legends in all of pop culture. I’m still not convinced. I think the fact that the vocalist appears to deviate from the lyrics as written may leave the solution open to debate for years to come.
@ 0:57 Jay Leno was a guest on the episode that these credits are from. I think he played the role of a patient at a medical clinic, in the waiting room. I can't recall the episode though.
This was the story of black( some say brown)people in the USA Ghettos.. govt gave us nothing .. we didn’t complain. We found good times despite the overwhelming hardship place on us
This show ended over 42 years ago and is still awesome
It sure is.
Some of my best memories
@@patriciasmith267 I especially like the episodes with JANET JACKSON..."PENNY".
Seth McFarlane is doing an animated ripoff of it. I'm certain it'll kick ass.
@@miken.2847 I dunno man. The Cleveland show was a big flop.
Woke up this morning with this song in my head. Im a 47yr old white dude from Minneapolis. Miss this show!
If you got me TV or get TV you can watch it on your phone
I'm a black guy and I'm 34 years old and remembering this show growing up and it be in my head too, I mean hard, I can get ready for work and this song can give me motivation to work harder and even brighten my day! ❤
This theme song is timeless. The raw energy of fighting everyday for a place in this world. Doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from. Life is a struggle and having family and friends to get you through, is priceless. Thank You GOODTIMES!
And the positivity/optimism!
Well Said!!!
✝️🙏🏽💜
Yea..and they werent always working together..bad things kept trying to pull them apart..that show covered some dark themes..but they made it thru
You nailed it! So insightful! Thank you!😊❤️
@@pootthatbak2578 exactly!!!!
That's my late Grandfather Leon on the bicycle in the closing credits of the show.
He used to talk about that all the time, being a TV star because he was in the show lol. RIP G Leon.
OMG. When I watch the closing credits I always look for your grandfather
Wow for real and what is his last name?
The most powerful theme song. I could listen to this all day. I loved my childhood!
I agree with you 110% man !!
Never lost its power. Only The Jefferson theme song can match it.
FACTS
@@christophercasey6775 true! A well we're moving on up!!! To a deluxed apartment in the sky!
Growing up in the 70s and 80s
Nothing like it !!!
Brought tears to my eyes because I remember the times me and my family struggled.. even in the midst, we still managed to make happy memories. #GoodTimes
God bless you and your loved ones destini...💖💐😉
Happy memories, good times and family can be such a blessing. May your struggles pay off and easy street be your landing spot!
🎶💙
I saw a documentary that showed people around the world that lived in poverty, and horrible conditions, yet, they were the happiest people you would ever meet. Why? The ONE thing they all had in common was a loving family. God Bless. :)
@@ronnie_5150 awesome 👍
Man, it’s such a great theme song. The intro had the energy you felt when you stopped by a friend’s house, and the outro gave you the feeling that it was time to go home. It complimented the show so beautifully. These characters didn’t just feel real; they felt like your neighbors.
Perfectly said... Never thought of it that way.
Damn well said
Best comment ever bro.
"Hang'n In a Chow Line," said Dave Chappelle on Know Your Black People.
The most disputed lyrics
I said the same thing LOL!! I've been singing "Hanging and jiving" Makes sense to me LOL
actively watching it lmao
CHIEF lol me too
Hangin' in a chow line...good times. Ain't we lucky we got 'em... Although, hangin' and a jivin' seems more correct...
I am an Italian American. I remember watching these shows. It always made me think about the struggles of life and how we all have to find ways out to survive!
Exactimundo
The theme of good times still resonates to this day...we're still s÷ing inflation, struggles to keep a roof over our heads, barely paying the bills,trying to stay on the right track..yet the spirit and happy memories we make with our loved ones the best we can...God bless you everyone stay strong and safe
Good times is filmed in front of a live audience
Gang bangers
😂
JUST LIKE YO MOMMA
@@douglasbrandal5064 😂
We sure are lucky we got ‘em✨
So I *WAS RIGHT!* ...Mostly; I always heard:
"Hangin' and ah jivin'!"
Which is pretty dang close to:
"Hangin' *IN* and jivin'!"
I *KNEW* that mess about a "chow line" just didn't set right with me!
*THANK YOU* for finally clearing this up!!
I used to watch this early in the morning, right before Gumby, in the late 1980s when I was in Jr. High, in Cook County, Illinois, just outside of Chicago's West Side...just a few miles from where the intro was filmed, and where it was supposed to take place (though I'm guessing the interior shots were likely filmed in Hollywood, CA?).
I had an ex that actually grew up in one of Chicago's more infamous projects, and she absolutely hated this program as it wasn't "true to life," but as I told her, it *IS* a fictional sitcom, that was mostly marketed towards an audience that not only had probably never even driven past a housing project, but had probably never lived in or near Chicago, or any other large Amerrican city....I mean do you think that "Leave it to Beaver" was a "realistic representation" of most families in the suburbs?! Absolutely not! This is why it's a fictional sitcom and not a real-life documentary!
*so basically you telling me i’ve been SCREAMING the wrong words this wholeeeeee entire time??🤔*
Not the only one
Me too😂😂😂
@@dianarochelle3869 And YOU'RE BLACK, NAMED AFTER THE PREMIER MOTOWN ARTIST HERSELF, AND...both of them signed to Motown Records. A company you should be WELL VERSED IN. You need to change affiliations...NOW! Even I knew the words!
U still got milk behind yo ears sit down somewhere lol
Aaliyah Lacole LMBOOOOO me too 🤣
If every child had a father like James on Good times there would not be any crime
My Dad was very similar to James Evans. Very strict and you did get a spanking when you did something wrong. He, too, had a few different construction jobs to keep us going.
Just looking out of the window, watching the asphalt grow. Thinking how it all looks hand-me-down.... Such poignant and sad lyrics.
Thus song and lyrics are A1 awesome
God yes.
shadow show And how true they are!!
shadow show Cybergaming 33 It's about enjoying the good times even through the bad.👍🏼👍🏼There is a shred of hope there.
I always thought it was, "Thinkin' how it almost teared me down," which is even sadder.
I'm 21, born in 2000, 40 years after the show ended. My dad loved this show growing up and he would always show it to us kids growing up, I'm so thankful for this show and my dad's appreciation and love for it too. Taught us many lessons and to always appreciate what you have and WHO you have!
You're beautiful
Good Times ended in 1979
DynOmite!
You think Good Times ended in 1960?
I'm 40 and I don't even remember the reruns being on in the late 80s and 90s, I started watching the show recently. Good job dad!
Brings back a lot of memories...I miss shows like this.
Though some of the lyrics are utterly depressing, the composer ends each line with "Good times!" Reminding us there's always a way to dance through the fire. I loved this song as a child, and I cherish it as an adult ❤
The establishing shots in the 70s sitcoms were outstanding. They showed REAL PEOPLE.
They all probably dead now so u looking at dead people
@@iamdebaby8152 why would children in 1974 be dead now?
I was wondering if these people were still alive seeing themselves on tv.
R.i.p ja’net and the rest of the cast members who passed
She up there with esther
I like your nose
lethal5 flow thank you
@@blacdharma2381 Your welcome princess, be safe
@@lethal5flow679 simp
One of the most badass sitcom intro song of all time....
Agreed and I only watch this sitcom for jimmie walker and bernadette they are hilarious!!!
Always loved the ending, fierce harmonizing at its best. Thank you Ja’Net for the Good Times. RIP beautiful lady.
I just now notice how sarcastic the song was but it was good times when u were going through rough times thats when family stuck together. Those time u had to have good times to lighten the mood of going through the rough times.
They were "good times" compared to what came next in the 80's & 90's!
Any time you meet a payment, any time you meet a friend, you're out from under, not gettin' hassled, not gettin' hustled.....all sounds pretty good to me!
Although I didn't grow up in a ghetto,
grew up middle class poor in the Pittsburgh suburbs, my white family, mainly my father went through similar circumstances of layoffs, quitting & firings. My mother worked a minimum wage job @ K Mart & held the family financially together!
Instead of the dreaded oatmeal every morning, it was the dreaded Creme of Wheat most mornings! Lol
@@hugejohnson5011 , my parents lived on credit cards & would just charge it in the 1970s! Lol
Man I just had to listen to this again. It came to memory when I saw JayJay Walker on that commercial lol. Remember my childhood watching this, The Jefferson's, Sanford & Son, The Redd Foxx Show etc. I miss those days. They were so much better than nowadays. These shows were awesome then. They'll always be awesome!
Don't forget All in the Family, Emergency, Adam - 12, Mission Impossible, Star Trek, and a bunch more. The 70s kicked ass, musically and in Television!
Norman Lear was a genius. There is no Norman Lear nowadays.
Rest In Peace Mr. John Amos! This Song Is For You!🕊🌹
Who's living an episode of Good Times right now? LMAO.
😂😂😂✊🏿
Always have, that just life ain't it... 🤷
Still, in 2021 😩🤦🏽♀️
it reminds me of my dad who passed away in 2019. I was 8 and SCN ( southern command network) started showing Good Times. I remenber him laughing, but most of all I remember the song, the intro, the faces.
@@harlhequim same. 💞
And my Dad also passed in 2019
I’m 18 years old but this was still a part of my childhood thanks to my parents. Hella memories
I grew up in the 2000s and I watched this show it was great
At 40 years old, and looking at that skyline from the old days, I wish I can turn back the hands of time. #Flashbacks
I couldn't agree more. Have to say they were Good Times...the best of times actually.
From Wikipedia:
Theme song and opening sequence
The gospel-styled theme song was composed by Dave Grusin with lyrics written by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. It was sung by Jim Gilstrap and Motown singer Blinky Williams with a gospel choir providing background vocals.
The lyrics to the theme song are notorious for being hard to discern, notably the line "Hangin' in a chow line"/"Hangin' in and jivin'" (depending on the source used). Dave Chappelle used this part of the lyrics as a quiz in his "I Know Black People" skit on Chappelle's Show in which the former was claimed as the answer.The insert for the Season One DVD box set has the lyric as "Hangin' in a chow line". However, the Bergmans confirmed that the lyric is actually "Hangin' in and jivin'." Slightly different lyrics were used for the closing credits, with the song beginning on a verse instead of the chorus.
yeah, I could never get that line. I thought it sounded like "hangin in a jara" no idea what that would mean. but hangin in and jivin makes much more sense
Janet Dubois sung on it as well
Anyone old enough to enjoy and appreciate and reminisce "Good times" i love you always.
It is hanging in a chow line!!
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 layoffs - good times!
Easy credit rip-offs - good times!
Scratchin' and survivin' - good times!
Hangin' in a chow line - good times!
Ain't we lucky we got 'em? good times!
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Marilyn Bergman / Alan Bergman / Dave Grusin
Good Times lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc
but it's not
Lyric find is often incorrect
Correct. Hangin in a chow line!!
@@BYMY12 Not according to the song writers....
Dave Chappelle doesn't even know what it says. LOL
According to Wikipedia, the lyric is Hangin' in and jivin', "The Bergmans, [who wrote the lyrics] along with Bern Nadette Stanis, confirmed that the lyric is actually "Hangin' in and jivin'."
Any time someone in my D&D group dies, I say, "We'll always remember the good times," and play this song.
That's awesome
Surprised myself with the "hangin' in and jivin' ", but on the Outro credits, "Watching the escargot/Thinking how they’re almost hand-me-downs," was a BIG swing-and-a-miss when I was six (and this was long in syndication). But hey -- Moms happened to love escargot! 😂
Wonderful theme song -- thanks for the memories!!
Watching the escargots...that's hilarious!! Thank you for posting.
I met Thelma and got to take a picture with her when she was at Ft. Knox signing autographs last week. I also bought her book. She's really nice!
Funny because I met JJ (Jimmy Walker) at Ft Campbell. lol This was in the mid 90s
My sister met her also at a base in Texas. She said she's very nice .
I just got 'laid off"...and my paperwork says TEMPORARY LAYOFF...so of course the first thing I did was google the good times theme!
One of the best intro song to a TV show ever! Good Times was a great sitcom too.
Born in 61, I was still very young when Good Times was on the air. That song, oh that song, has always brought out something special in my soul. The memories just bring me back to a time in life which I call carefree. There were many problems I had while growing up a black male in America, problems of development accompanied by race and segregation for male children. Sometimes it hurt listening to this song, a soul sickness, the smell of enchantment with melancholy sickness flavor. The pain of being a black child in the 70s for some of us still hurt very much today, especially when you daydream of past memories.
isn't hangin in a chow line??
Finally looked this up because of the Chappelle skit 12 years after I first saw it and even though I’ve never even seen this show, this intro/outro radiates a nostalgia that I’ve had about the Chicago I never got to see but have heard so much of. Everything about this song and the footage that it’s paired with is perfect.
For years I thought the lyrics were hangin in a chow line.
Pretty sure you're right on that.
A lot of people thought that, and they were printed that way on the DVD boxed sets when they first came out.
yours is better ,u dont wanna know mine lol
you are correct.... the jivin' lyric - SMDH
I always thought it was "hanging in a Joliet" - as in the nearby city of Joliet where the shows takes place in Chicago... It makes no dang sense... but that's what I honestly thought... go figure...!!! (LOL) ... I still say this was one of the all-time best TV theme songs ever made.
Meanwhile, no one notices that Jay Leno is in the end credits as "the young man" #ChowLine #Jivin
Good eye!
I also like your hashtags; oh the controversy! 😅
Yes, was just going to say that!
0:57
Yes he was on an episode before. I can't remember which one but I've watched it.
it reminds me of my dad who passed away in 2019. I was 8 and SCN ( southern command network) started showing Good Times. I remenber him laughing, but most of all I remember the song, the intro, the faces.
Greatest tv show theme of all time! Brings back memories 🥹
Good times
"Ain't we lucky we got'em"
Thank you Jesus for 44 years of life
🙌❤❤❤🙌
The recent showing of All in the Family and The Jeffersons made me remember the fact that I never knew all of the words to Good Times. I had no idea of a lot of what they were saying. Thanks for posting because if I had not seen these subtitles, I NEVER would have figured out some parts of what was being said.
"Just lookin` out of the window, watching the asphalt grow. . . thinkin` how it all looks hand-me-down. . . great lyrics.
what does "hand-me-down" mean?
@@charlessmith263 It's like someone gives you clothes that are now too small for them. That's an example.
Yelp I made up a whole new song..didn't know those were the words..lol
I always thought it was “ thinking how it all looks sad to die” referring to the destruction of the land.
Finally i see the lyrics that i could not figure out for decades.."hangin in and jivin"
Oh my god, this was literally my favorite show when I was growing up! I never missed an episode and I will always love the theme song as well❤️
THANK YOu. I knew it wasnt that Chow line crap. But hangin in & Jivin, makes so much more sence, thats the slang that was spoken in the 70s. GOOD EAR. RAY, that was a real mystery for Good Times fans for a long time .
Naw even if it isn’t chow line that makes WAY more sense. That was a term also used at that time, and actually in that context unlike jiving. Hanging in and jiving is not the way that word was used
@@byHexted hanging in and jivin was not sead like that, the, the song was saying hanging in / AND JIVIN ,
This just takes me back to when life was great. Most didn't care who or where you came from as long as you were good people with a good heart you were always welcome. Love all my brothers and sisters from every dam where
To all the people who thought that one line was “hangin’ in a chow line”….. even if we didn’t know the writers confirmed that’s wrong, it wouldn’t even make sense. The whole song is about working hard to beat a system stacked against them. Waiting in line for some free food would not make sense for a song about the working class “scratching and surviving.” The characters on the show were not homeless. They worked hard and took care of themselves.
40+ years and still one of the best shows on TV!
My Mom who is 91 years old with dementia sent me here to be in a happy place with a great theme song like Good Times! Ain’t we lucky we got them, Good Times ohhhh yeah. There’s got to be a way of coping with Caregiving.
Sorry about your mom. I wish you and her the best.
Rest In Peace “Wilona” 😇❤️😇❤️😇❤️🙏🏽
I ordered the entire 6 seasons from E-Bay. Been binge watching it for a week now. Sept. 2023.
from reading the lyrics, that sounds like nothing but bad times.
Update: dang i got theese much likes
No doubt its meant to be sarcasm.
i agree it is
It is chow line....i agree
Cybergaming 33 it's because you do not have the depth and intellect to emphathize with the black struggle in this country.
I know that's right J. R. Black people make a way out to NO way. Hence, Good Times.
I drive through that neighborhood weekly. It's changed sooo much.
It's funny how this simple song made a huge impact on me as a kid. It's why I picked up guitar at 8 years old. Very sentimental in so many ways.
Absolutely awesome! Thank you for posting this! You are DY-NO-MITE!! I've waited almost FIFTY YEARS to get the correct and complete lyrics to this theme! They say all things come to those who wait, so it's lucky I'm a patient man!
Even as a kid that second part /the outro always was my favorite and still hits different 🔥🔥🔥
Fact: You searched for this. These Gen Z don’t know anything about the amazing shows we had.
I used to love this show. Watched from Sydney Australia when I was a kid.
Even i got it close to being right, singing it as a lil girl when it originally aired.
Me as a kid: "Hangin' and a-jivin'.....good times!" 😂🤣
yup, because that lyric is what was actually being said, that was one of the most disputed lyrics of all time
Love it, love it, it was the golden age of tv don't you think.
I’m just gonna say if the people that actually wrote the song say it’s “hangin and a Jivin’ then damn it.. it’s hangin and a jivin’!! End of discussion.. period!!
boy quinton.....THANK YOU! The writers have cleared up the debate! Why are the talking heads still insisting on the incorrect lyric....LOL!
Narvelan Coleman exactly.. and the same reason why these incorrect people are saying they don’t care what the writers say
Is that building Cabrini green projects in Chicago
Denise Kiture yes
Cubbie 410 well I did studio work and have song lyrics wrong and they kept it to keep down recording cost and it sounded great so it was ok but a lyrics sheet had opposite of what I said
Funny thing is, growing up in the projects in the 60s and 70s, everybody was dirt poor and struggling. We new we were poor, but it didn’t really matter. I got 4 brothers, and back then families stuck together..you had no choice. Lol. Our parents were married almost 60 years. 7 of us in a 2 bedroom project apartment, and we had the greatest upbringing you could ask for. Didn’t have any money, but sure had a lot of great times. Man, 50 years flew by!!!
I’m 50. I loved these shows when I was a little kid.
Nothing touches Good Times or The Jeffersons theme songs...still slappin' in 24!!!
One of the most underrated and greatest show to be on TV. The cast was Dynamite. Every episode had a positive message and values. Crazy thing is you can actually apply those lessons today. I can't believe Amazon Prime has all the episodes.
I fell in love with a gorgeous woman from the 18th floor projects, she was a lot of fun , some folks don't have a choice where they live but, GODAM there's beautiful people in the projects
When I was a kid, John Amos scared the shit out of me when he got angry. Loved him on West Wing.
RIP Ms.DuBois aka Willona. Thanks for the laughs.
Im 40 now n this almost brings tears to my eyes from all the nostalgia
Brings me back to when I was a little boy , loved watching this, bring me back
loved this hook. This songs reminds you of all the good times you experience growing up. Many of us have forgotten these must have experiences. I never knew all the words, thank you'll for solving my mystery, temporary layoff, a good time
*Heaven JUST got Buffalo Butt 😞🙏🏿 R.I.P. To Esther Rolle, Ja'net Dubois & Johnny Brown!! Rest easy!*
It was only right to play it for the one time😔
Still one of my very favorites… still watching it !! I loved everything about this show… the theme song story lines etc! So raw real and really funny!! Perfect cast… I loved every season but always missed John Amos ! He was such a big part of the show… I always loved the line… Junior I brought you in this world and I can take you out! 😅😂🤣😆 SUCH A CLASSIC SHOW!! 💙
“Daddy, can I have a raise in my allowance?” “Well how much am I giving you now, Junior?” “Nothin.” “Ok. I’ll double it.” “Yes! I’m gettin double allowance!”
Robert Taylor homes. Boy, do I remember them, and how you heard tragic stories about things happening there regularly on Chanel 9. Cabrini Green was something else! Now it's all gone.
The Chicago skyline has changed so drastically in 40+ years. So many cities looked polluted back then until the EPA put in emissions standards.
Yes it did change drastically. You notice on the video, that the John Hancock tower is shown but no Sears Tower 'or as of recent, the Willis Tower' and that's because this sitcom must have debut in the few years between the completion of the Hancock tower and the Sears Tower.
Here's something that blew my mind when I found out it was true.
Cleveland's Terminal Tower was the tallest building in the world outside of New York City between 1928 when construction was completed, until 1964 when the Prudential Building was built in Boston. Back then Chicago did have a huge downtown. But it's buildings weren't the towering mega tall buildings that exist there today.
Interesting. Chicago has always had a nice skyline. The first “skyscraper” was a building in Chicago
0:30 The lyrics _on paper_ might be “hangin’ in and jivin’,” but it sure _sounds_ like the singer took a little creative license.
What kind of professional recording artist, being paid to record a specific song, with specific lyrics, would “take a little creative license” and just sing their own line? Also, the “chow line” thing makes NO sense. It’s a song about hard working blu collar families, not about homeless people in a shelter.
@@trekkiejunk because a chow line isn't just for homeless...its for anyone in need...they don't discriminate..sort of like the salvation army..all are welcome..and based on low income family in Chicago struggling to pay bills and put food on table..chow line makes sense
This is was and remains one of the greatest teevee 📺 shows of all time. I am watching a rerun RIGHT NOW. 💙
The Cabrini-green houses in Chicago. So awful that they demolished almost all the buildings starting in 1995. Only a few row houses remain from the original layout.
I thought it was making a WAY when you can.
I think it is
I too thought the same.
Me too that's the only part I got wrong
pretty sure it is. making a “wave” don’t even sound correct.
Total Control 871 oh okay! thanks!
OMG! I tried to find this YEARS ago after seeing "Chappelle's Show", and nothing came up. I'm so glad someone eventually uploaded it, and we finally know what the ACTUAL lyric is. 😂
Edit: Actually, if you listen to it on slower speed, I think Chappelle is correct. I can't believe even with the lyrics on screen we're STILL disputing it😂
it really does sound like hanging in a chow line
scott campbell jr I just heard it lol
That what I thought it was too
Or joy line
It is
The seventies were all about jivin’
This song brings me back to my life in the projects. So long ago yet so close.
R.I.P. JA’NET DUBOIS... 😢
"TEMPORARY LAY OFF " ! that's my favorite part
Even the theme songs from the 70s are excellent music, just like ALL the 70s music.
That is without a doubt, the absolute fracking BEST tv show theme of all time!!!
The lyrics to this theme song might be one of the greatest mysteries/urban legends in all of pop culture. I’m still not convinced. I think the fact that the vocalist appears to deviate from the lyrics as written may leave the solution open to debate for years to come.
Amazing! Thanks for including the ending as well.
@ 0:57 Jay Leno was a guest on the episode that these credits are from. I think he played the role of a patient at a medical clinic, in the waiting room. I can't recall the episode though.
It was the episode when JJ thought he had VD.
The 70s had the BEST theme songs, and this is definitely an example of that.
I'm from England, we never got that show here, but Dave Chappelle brought me here, and I'm hearing hanging in a chow line
It IS Hangin' in a chow line. That singer has marbles in her mouth, though.
Hanging in a chow line don't make sense hanging in and jiving makes more sense in the 70s
This was the story of black( some say brown)people in the USA Ghettos.. govt gave us nothing .. we didn’t complain. We found good times despite the overwhelming hardship place on us
@@CaesarB227 agreed. The 1930s would be a far different matter.
Thank you Mike Evans! " Lionel from Jeffersons. (1st Lionel) 🎉❤ That's why he was absent from Season 3-6 I believe.
This is one of all times favorite number one shows!!! I love this show. these times are gone forever...
Yeah we are not allowed to have fun with things any more or else that fun police will throw a tantrum
Thanks for a DYNO-MITE upload. Dave Chapelle made fun of this lyric.
Those voices... So soulful
Thanks for the lyrics. Really like the closing music.
I grew up dirt poor too 😢😢 but that's where the similarity stops .... I never forgot where I came from 💝💝🔯👑♎👑🔯💝💝
Subtitled AND Captioned? Thank you for putting in the effort to do both.