How The 'Growing Pains' Theme Makes Us All Feel

When I was a kid, Saturday nights were reserved for hanging out with family. Well, not actually my family — the many sitcoms families that occupied my weekend mornings in reruns. As a kid, I loved staying up late to hang with the Bradys, the Tanners, the Seavers, and all of the lighthearted comedy gangs. As any fan of these shows knows, a sitcom is only as good as its theme song, which is why one of my absolute favorite shows to tune into was Growing Pains.

Sure, the series had a lot going for it, with its super on-point parenting team, uber-cool older brother Mike (what was it about rebellious slackers that made them so appealing to mass audiences?) and the introduction of a shaggy-haired Leonardo DiCaprio in the final season, but what got me hyped for all of that was the song itself.

Don't tell me you don't remember it. "As Long As We Got Each Other" was pretty much the most perfect ode to family ever. Sung by B.J. Thomas and Jennifer Warnes, the song — set to pictures of the cast at various stages of "growing" — was a call to go hug your siblings and start planning your mom's next surprise birthday party. Family was everything on Growing Pains, and the theme song really hit the nail on the head while making us feel pretty much all of the feels.

Here's exactly how:

Image: ABC; Caroline Wurtzel/Bustle