The first song on Led Zeppelin's debut album, John Bonham, John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page are the credited songwriters on this track. Page explained how it came together in his 2012 Rolling Stone interview: "John Paul Jones came up with the riff. I had the chorus. John Bonham applied the bass-drum pattern. That one really shaped our writing process. It was like, 'Wow, everybody's erupting at once." Jimmy Page passed his guitar through a Leslie Speaker to create a swirling effect. The Leslie contains a rotating paddle and was designed for organs, but some musicians used it to process guitars and vocals. Eric Clapton used it on "Badge." John Bonham used a device called a "Triplet" on his bass drum for this song to get a double bass pedal sound. He used the tip of his toe to flick the bass pedal back fast, creating an effect many drummers tried to copy. Jimmy Page explained in the BBC Book Guitar Greats, "'Good Times, Bad Times,' as usual, came out of a riff with a great deal of John Paul Jones on bass, and it really knocked everybody sideways when they heard the bass drum pattern, because I think everyone was laying bets that Bonzo was using two bass drums, but he only had one."
In the days of my youth, I was told what it means to be a man,
Now I've reached that age, I've tried to do all those things the best I can.
No matter how I try, I find my way into the same old jam.
[Chorus:]
Good Times, Bad Times, you know I had my share;
When my woman left home for a brown eyed man,
Well, I still don't seem to care.
Seventeen, I fell in love with a girl as sweet as could be,
The only took a couple of days 'til she was rid of me.
She swore that she would be all mine and love me till the end,
But when I whispered in her ear, I lost another friend, oooh.
[Chorus]
[Solo]
[Chorus]
I know what it means to be alone, I sure do wish I was at home.
I don't care what the neighbors say, I'm gonna love you each and every day.
You can feel the beat within my heart.
Realize, sweet babe, we ain't ever gonna part.
Now I've reached that age, I've tried to do all those things the best I can.
No matter how I try, I find my way into the same old jam.
[Chorus:]
Good Times, Bad Times, you know I had my share;
When my woman left home for a brown eyed man,
Well, I still don't seem to care.
Seventeen, I fell in love with a girl as sweet as could be,
The only took a couple of days 'til she was rid of me.
She swore that she would be all mine and love me till the end,
But when I whispered in her ear, I lost another friend, oooh.
[Chorus]
[Solo]
[Chorus]
I know what it means to be alone, I sure do wish I was at home.
I don't care what the neighbors say, I'm gonna love you each and every day.
You can feel the beat within my heart.
Realize, sweet babe, we ain't ever gonna part.
This song this morning expresses in the lyrics something of loneliness and the promise of not being apart from the one you love. It's a familiar theme in rock music. Jilted love and abandonment go with the territory. The song portrays a courage to go on. A courage that despite the circumstances is not going to give up. The Scripture passage this morning comes to us from Deuteronomy 31:6 and Matthew 28:20 where we find the same sentiments. These two passages convey the heart of God to be with us for ever. It's a fundamental promise of the grace of God. It reveals his heart towards us. and instills courage in us.
Courage is the strength of that enables one to withstand fear or difficulty; being bold, and fearless. II Chronicles 19:11 says “and behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the Lord Yahweh, and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, for all the king’s matters; also the Levites shall be officers before you. Deal courageously and the Lord Yahweh shall be with the good”.
The opposite of courage is fear, and the Bible says “fear not” over 300 times. Fear causes your faith not to work, so courage enforces your faith
(Deuteronomy 31:6-7) “be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them, for the Lord Yahweh your God, He it is that does go with you; He will not fail you, nor forsake you. And Moses called to Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, be strong and of a good courage; for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord Yahweh has sworn to their fathers to give them; and you shall cause them to inherit it”.
God reaffirms this to Joshua
God reaffirms this to Joshua
(Joshua 1:6-7) “be strong and of a good courage; for to this people shall you divide for an inheritance the land, which I swear to their fathers to give them. Only be you strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law, which Moses My servant commanded you; turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go”. In verse 5 God says “there shall not any man be able to stand before you all the days of your life, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you, nor forsake you”.
Courageous people risk their lives to do what is right. Because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king of Egypt and allowed the boys to live, too (Exodus 1:17). Hebrew midwives helped women give birth and cared for the baby until the mother was stronger. When Pharaoh ordered the midwives to kill the Hebrew baby boys, but these women showed great courage and love for God by risking their lives to disobey Pharaoh’s command. Their faith in God gave them the courage to take a stand for what they knew was right. God does not expect us to obey those in authority, when they ask us to disobey Him or His Word. Whenever we are ordered to disobey God’s Word, “we must obey God rather than human authority” (Acts 5:29).
Courage people are bold in representing Christ. Boldness is not reckless impulsiveness. Boldness requires courage to press through our fears and do what we know is right. How can we be more bold? Like the disciples, we need to pray with others for that courage. The disciples in the early church, when they were threatened to stop preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus, went to their own company and prayed “and now, Lord, behold their threatenings; and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word. By stretching forth Your hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of Your hold child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spoke the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:29:31).
We have to take courage, Paul is a good example in Acts 28:15 the Bible says "The brothers and sisters there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was encouraged.
The Bible says “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love and of power and of a sound mind” (II Timothy 1:7). Joshua to Israel “fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage; for thus shall the Lord Yahweh do to all your enemies against whom you fight” (Joshua 10:25). David showed his courage in the face of the giant Goliath, even though all of Israel was afraid. David remembered that God was with him with the lion and the bear, and knew that he could count on God. He knew his covenant rights against the giant. David told Solomon his son “be strong and of good courage, and do it; fear not, nor be dismayed for the Lord Yahweh God, even my God, will be with you; He will not fail you, nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord Yahweh” (I Chronicles 28:20).
The Bible tells us many times that “God will never leave us nor forsake us”; when I was little and someone was bothering me, my friends would stand up for me, and my courage would grow because I was not alone. The Bible says “you are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He within me than he who is in the world” (I John 4:4). Remember Jesus said in Luke 10:19 “behold, I give to you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you”.
The devil is defeated already, he is like a bully; and you know as people stand up to a bully, they leave them alone. The Bible says “submit yourself to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:7-8a). courage grows as we trust God. Our only true refuge is the eternal God, who always holds out His arms to catch us when the shaky supports that we trust collapse and we fall. No storm can destroy us when we take refuge in Him. Because God is our refuge, we can dare to be bold. Jesus told His disciples to take courage, in spite of the inevitable struggles they would face, they would not be alone. Jesus does not abandon us to our struggles either. If we remember that the ultimate victory has already been won, we can claim the peace of Christ in the most troublesome times.
Faith is associated with courage, Jesus rebuked His disciples for their lack of courage, in Mark 4:35-41; Jesus had told them, “let us pass over to the utter side”, as the entered the ship, Jesus fell asleep, then a storm arose. The disciples were afraid and awoke Jesus saying “Master, care You not that we perish?” He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still”. The wind ceased and He said to them “why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith”? The Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:13-14 “wherefore, take to you the whole armour of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. Stand therefore, having your lions girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness”.
Jesus commissioned us to “go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:19-20).
The promise of God is to never leave us. Therefore we can have courage and boldness. Because when God is for us who can be against us.
Courageous people risk their lives to do what is right. Because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king of Egypt and allowed the boys to live, too (Exodus 1:17). Hebrew midwives helped women give birth and cared for the baby until the mother was stronger. When Pharaoh ordered the midwives to kill the Hebrew baby boys, but these women showed great courage and love for God by risking their lives to disobey Pharaoh’s command. Their faith in God gave them the courage to take a stand for what they knew was right. God does not expect us to obey those in authority, when they ask us to disobey Him or His Word. Whenever we are ordered to disobey God’s Word, “we must obey God rather than human authority” (Acts 5:29).
Courage people are bold in representing Christ. Boldness is not reckless impulsiveness. Boldness requires courage to press through our fears and do what we know is right. How can we be more bold? Like the disciples, we need to pray with others for that courage. The disciples in the early church, when they were threatened to stop preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus, went to their own company and prayed “and now, Lord, behold their threatenings; and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word. By stretching forth Your hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of Your hold child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spoke the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:29:31).
We have to take courage, Paul is a good example in Acts 28:15 the Bible says "The brothers and sisters there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was encouraged.
The Bible says “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love and of power and of a sound mind” (II Timothy 1:7). Joshua to Israel “fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage; for thus shall the Lord Yahweh do to all your enemies against whom you fight” (Joshua 10:25). David showed his courage in the face of the giant Goliath, even though all of Israel was afraid. David remembered that God was with him with the lion and the bear, and knew that he could count on God. He knew his covenant rights against the giant. David told Solomon his son “be strong and of good courage, and do it; fear not, nor be dismayed for the Lord Yahweh God, even my God, will be with you; He will not fail you, nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord Yahweh” (I Chronicles 28:20).
The Bible tells us many times that “God will never leave us nor forsake us”; when I was little and someone was bothering me, my friends would stand up for me, and my courage would grow because I was not alone. The Bible says “you are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He within me than he who is in the world” (I John 4:4). Remember Jesus said in Luke 10:19 “behold, I give to you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you”.
The devil is defeated already, he is like a bully; and you know as people stand up to a bully, they leave them alone. The Bible says “submit yourself to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:7-8a). courage grows as we trust God. Our only true refuge is the eternal God, who always holds out His arms to catch us when the shaky supports that we trust collapse and we fall. No storm can destroy us when we take refuge in Him. Because God is our refuge, we can dare to be bold. Jesus told His disciples to take courage, in spite of the inevitable struggles they would face, they would not be alone. Jesus does not abandon us to our struggles either. If we remember that the ultimate victory has already been won, we can claim the peace of Christ in the most troublesome times.
Faith is associated with courage, Jesus rebuked His disciples for their lack of courage, in Mark 4:35-41; Jesus had told them, “let us pass over to the utter side”, as the entered the ship, Jesus fell asleep, then a storm arose. The disciples were afraid and awoke Jesus saying “Master, care You not that we perish?” He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still”. The wind ceased and He said to them “why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith”? The Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:13-14 “wherefore, take to you the whole armour of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. Stand therefore, having your lions girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness”.
Jesus commissioned us to “go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:19-20).
The promise of God is to never leave us. Therefore we can have courage and boldness. Because when God is for us who can be against us.
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