Harman Patil (Editor)

Brown Girl in the Ring (song)

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
A-side
  
"Rivers of Babylon"

Format
  
7" single, 12" single

Genre
  
Disco, R&B, reggae

Released
  
3 April 1978

Recorded
  
1978

Length
  
4:03

"Brown Girl in the Ring" is a traditional children's song in the West Indies. It was originally featured in the game of the same name, thought to have originated in Jamaica.

Contents

The song became internationally known when it was recorded by the group Boney M. in 1978. Originally it was the B-side of their hit "Rivers of Babylon", but became a hit in its own right.

The song had previously been recorded by the group Malcolm's Locks, leading to a dispute over royalties. The song had also been recorded in 1972 by the group Exuma.

Origin

Boys and girls play ring games in many parts of the world, especially during their pre-teen years. In There's a Brown Girl in the Ring, an anthology of Eastern Caribbean song games by Alan Lomax, J.D. Elder and Bess Lomax Hawes, it is suggested that ring games are a children's precursor to adult courtship.

Players form a ring by holding hands, then one girl or boy goes into the middle of the ring and starts skipping or walking around to the song. The girl or boy is then asked, "Show me your motion." At this point the child in the center does his or her favorite dance. If asked "Show me your partner," he or she picks a friend to join him or her in the circle. It has been played for many centuries in all of Jamaica.

Boney M. recording

Arguably the most popular version of the song, Boney M.'s version was originally a single B-side to the group's #1 hit single "Rivers of Babylon" (1978). When "Rivers of Babylon" had slipped to #20 in the UK charts, radio stations suddenly flipped the single, seeing "Brown Girl in the Ring" going all the way to #2 and becoming a hit in its own right. Liz Mitchell had previously recorded the song in 1975 with the group Malcolm's Locks, as the B-side of their single "Caribbean Rock". Mitchell's ex-boyfriend Malcolm Magaron was the group's lead singer. Arranger Peter Herbolzheimer accused Frank Farian of stealing his arrangement for the song, for which Farian claimed credit on the single. The court case ran for more than 20 years in Germany.

The early single pressing features the full-length 4:18 version with a chorus bit being edited out. The single mix is also slightly different from the album version which features steel drums on the outro riff of the song, the single mix doesn't. The single mix has yet to appear on CD (as at May 2014). Rivers of Babylon/Brown Girl in the Ring single is the sixth best-selling single of all time in the UK with sales of 2 million.

1993 Remix

Following the successful sales of the compilation album Gold - 20 Super Hits, Frank Farian remixed "Brown Girl in the Ring" for a single release, April 1993. The remix featured new lead vocals by Liz Mitchell and reached #6 in Denmark, #38 in the UK charts while failing to chart in Germany. The single also included a new remix of "The Calendar Song".

Releases

12" Single

  • "Brown Girl in the Ring (Remix '93)" (MCI/BMG 74321 13705 1, 1993)

    • Side A

    1. "Brown Girl in the Ring" (Funny Girl Club Mix) - 5:35
    2. "The Calendar Song (January, February, March...)" (Remix '93) - 3:14

    Side B

    1. "Brown Girl in the Ring" (Club Mix - Rap Version) - 5:35
    2. "Brown Girl in the Ring" (Radio Version) - 3:58

    CD
    "Brown Girl in the Ring (Remix '93)" (MCI/BMG 74321 13705 2, 1993

    1. "Brown Girl in the Ring" (Radio Version) - 3:58
    2. "Brown Girl in the Ring" (Funny Girl Club Mix) - 5:35
    3. "Brown Girl in the Ring" (Club Mix - Rap Version) - 5:35
    4. "The Calendar Song (January, February, March...)" (Remix '93) - 3:14

    • Other recordings

  • Jamaican poet, actress and singer Louise Bennett recorded the song in 1957 on an album of Children's Jamaican Songs and Games, re-released by Smithsonian Folkways (2007)
  • The Belize-born actress and singer Nadia Cattouse performed the song on her eponymous album, released in Britain in 1966.
  • Austrian Waterloo & Robinson covered the song in German, using Boney M.'s original backing track and backing vocals.
  • Other versions have been done by Brotherhood of Man, Raffi, Dan Zanes, the Minipops and The Maytones.
  • Jurassic 5, a Southern California-based hip-hop group, has a song titled "Brown Girl" which refers to the original song in its chorus.
  • The song is featured in the film Touching the Void when mountaineer Joe Simpson worries he is succumbing to madness or death. He recalls: "I remember thinking, bloody hell, I'm going to die to Boney M".
  • The Wiggles, an Australian children's band, in Big Red Car, 1995.
  • Lord Invader, a calypsonian from Trinidad, recorded a version circa 1946-1947 in New York. The recording is now part of the Smithsonian Folkways collection and was only released in 2000 on Lord Invader Calypso in New York CD.
  • Exuma recorded "Brown Girl" on his second album "Reincarnation" in 1972. Exuma claims to be the original artist to have recorded Brown Girl in the Ring. He claims that his version of Brown Girl in the Ring was re-recorded by Boney M without the permission of Exuma. The lawsuit has gone on for over 20 years.
  • Australian rapper Iggy Azalea sampled elements for the song "Goddess" on her debut album The New Classic in 2014.
  • The 1997 Smurfs Album 'The Smurfs Go Pop Again' featured a parody version on the song called "Shy Smurfs in the ring"

    • References

    Brown Girl in the Ring (song) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA