With the demise of blaxploitation, Grier's career went into hiatus for some years. She worked her way into progressively larger character roles in the 1980s, including notably the stoned prostitute in Fort Apache the Bronx (1981), a witch in Something Wicked this Way Comes (1983), and Steven Seagal's detective partner in Above the Law (1988). She became a regular on the hit television detective series Miami Vice in 1985.
Ms. Grier highlighted a successful television series during the '90s on the network B.E.T.
Grier re-achieved leading lady status in 1997 as the titular stewardess in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown, which many consider her best work so far. Grier is currently appearing in the television series The L Word.
Longtime Woman
Pam Grier Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I'm serving my time
I've been lock away so long now
I forgot my crime
I've been working on the road now,
I've been working by the sea
I've been working near them cane fields
Well ninety nine years is a long long long time
Ninety nine years is such a long long long time
Ninety nine years is a long long time
Well look at me, I'll never be free
I'm a long time woman
Ain't nobody to please
Got a natural feelings
Like a bad disease
Well ninety nine years is a long long time
Well ninety nine ninety nine years is such a long long time
Well ninety nine years is a long long time
Well look at me, I'll never be free
I'm a long time woman
Hmm, hmm, hmm ..
Doo, doo, doo, doo...
The lyrics in Pam Grier's song "Long Time Woman" portray the story of a woman who has been imprisoned for so long she doesn't remember what her crime was. She is a "long time woman" and has been serving her sentence, working hard labor. The woman dreams of freedom and wants to be released from her sentence. The tone of the song is one of defiance, anger, and sadness. It is a stark reminder of how the prison system can treat people harshly, and their struggles to get away from it.
The line "ninety-nine years is a long long long time" is repeated throughout the song. This was a reference to the sentence that many people were given under the harsh Jim Crow laws that existed in the United States in the early 1900s. These laws subjected Black people to unfair trials and harsh sentences. Pam Grier's song helped bring attention to this issue and became an anthem for civil rights and prison reform.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm a long time woman
I am a woman who has been around for a long time
And I'm serving my time
I am paying for my bad actions and doing my time in prison
I've been lock away so long now
I have been imprisoned for so long that I have lost track of the amount of time that has passed
I forgot my crime
I have been imprisoned for so long that I cannot remember what I did to get here
I've been working on the road now,
I have been working as a laborer on the roads
I've been working by the sea
I have been working near the sea as a laborer
I've been working near them cane fields
I have been working near sugar cane fields
And I wanna be free
I want to be free from imprisonment and to live a normal life
Well ninety nine years is a long long long time
The duration of 99 years is extremely long
Ninety nine years is such a long long long time
The amount of time that is 99 years seems impossibly long
Well look at me, I'll never be free
I will never be able to live a life of freedom and redemption
Ain't nobody to please
There is no one that I need to impress or make happy in my life
Got a natural feelings
I have strong feelings and emotions that are innate to me
Like a bad disease
My feelings and emotions are as strong and uncontrollable as a destructive disease
I'm a long time woman
I am a mature and experienced woman
Hmm, hmm, hmm ..
(interlude with no specific meaning)
Doo, doo, doo, doo...
(interlude with no specific meaning)
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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