Songfacts®:

• In this song, Grand Funk lead singer Mark Farner has met the girl of his dreams, but at an awkward time in his life, meaning he may have to let her go. Farner was indeed going through a bad time with his wife Cheryl. In a Songfacts interview, he explained: "My first wife was in the kitchen. I can remember sitting at the piano - I had a little spinet in the dining room - and she's threatening to put a 12-inch cast-iron skillet through my forehead. And I'm in there writing 'bad time for being in love.'"
• "Bad Time" was the last big hit for Grand Funk, who were one of the most popular bands of the early and mid-'70s. They started falling apart soon after, and broke up in 1976 after releasing their album Good Singin', Good Playin', produced by Frank Zappa. They got back together for a few years in the early '80s, but didn't regroup again until the mid-'90s. Their last studio album was issued in 1983.
• The American alternative country and rock band The Jayhawks did a popular cover on their 1995 album, Tomorrow The Green Grass.