TV theme songs seem to go in and out of fashion, but I have always found them to be the soul of a TV show and I am ecstatically glad nowadays when shows have one. The melody and the tone of its lyrics of a TV theme song set up the viewer each week, reminding them of their favorite programs, evoking an emotional memory that draws them back into the characters and their predicaments. Recently, I was re-watching the 1970s sitcom Good Times. For those who do not know it, it tells the story of Florida and James Evans, an African-American family living in near-poverty, trying to make ends meet, in the projects of Chicago. The theme song, by Dave Grusin (music) and Marilyn Bergman and Alan Bergman (lyrics), is a bold and ironic statement, musing at the how everyone is “scratchin’ and survivin’”. What I never absorbed until recently is the reworking of the song for the show’s closing credits. Three lines of new lyrics sung to a more contemplative version of the melody are shear poetry, summing up the world of Good Times with economy and impact. I suddenly found myself emotional and achingly connected to show in a way I hadn’t before
