Comments About The Lyrics "Your Skin Is Not Only Dark, It Shines And Tells Your Story" From Beyoncé's "Brown Skin Girl" Song

Beyoncé, Aug 24, 2020
-snip-
"With help from Wizkid, SAINt JHN and her own daughter Blue Ivy Carter, Beyoncé uses “BROWN SKIN GIRL” to tell young “brown skinned” girls to be proud of their skin and embrace it." -https://genius.com/Blue-ivy-saint-jhn-beyonce-and-wizkid-brown-skin-girl-lyrics
The complete lyrics for that song are found on that link and in the summary of this embedded video.
-snip-
Statistics as of March 15, 2021 at 7:03 PM EDT
total # of views - 32,180,452
total # of likes - 934K
total # of dislikes - 25K
total # of comments -52,372
-snip-
Here are links to some other pancocojams posts about this song:
https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/03/people-from-india-other-south-asians.html

People From India & Other South Asian Nations Write About Colorism They Experience In Their Countries (comments from the YouTube discussion thread of the official video of Beyonce's song "Brown Skin Girl")

**
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/07/brown-skin-girls-throughout-world.html "Brown Skin Girls Throughout The World Comment About Beyoncé's Song "Brown Skin Girl" 

****
Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases the official video of  et. al's 2019 Grammy award winning video "Brown SKin Girl".

This post also presents a small number of comments from the discussion thread of that official YouTube. Most of these comments specifically refer to the words "Your Skin Is Not Only Dark, It Shines And Tells Your Story" and/or generally refer to the impact of this song/video on the self-esteem and group esteem of those commenters and of other people of color.

The content of this post is presented for socio-cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Beyoncé SAINt JHN, WizKid, and Blue Ivy Carter who performed this song. Thanks to the composers of this song and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
Here are links to some other pancocojams posts about this song:
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/08/beyonce-blue-ivy-saint-jhn-wizkid-brown_25.html "Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, SAINt JHN, WizKid - BROWN SKIN GIRL (Official Video)". This post includes biographical profiles about these singers

**

http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/07/brown-skin-girls-throughout-world.html "Brown Skin Girls Throughout The World Comment About Beyoncé's Song "Brown Skin Girl"

**
https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/03/people-from-india-other-south-asians.html
"People From India & Other South Asian Nations Write About Colorism They Experience In Their Countries" 

****
SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS VIDEO'S DISCUSSION THREAD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRFS0MYTC1I&ab_channel=Beyonc%C3%A9VEVO

These comments were published from September 2020 to March 2021. They are given below in relative chronological order with the oldest comments presented first except for replies. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

I did not read all of the comments in this video's discussion thread, but I'm certain that there are other comments worthy of archiving which specifically mention these words in that song in that song and/or which otherwise focus on the issue of "colorism". 

2020

1. Jordan Garvey
" “Your skin is not only dark, it shines and it tells your story” will continue to be one of my favourite lines. Thank you Beyoncé. I love you"

**
Reply
2. Yirgayem yirgah
"I see no wonder in that line,,,,though am black"

**
Reply
3. Jordan Garvey
"Yirgayem yirgah That’s terribly unfortunate"

**
Reply
4. Stephanie Greenwood
"That my favorite line too. It makes me cry every time. I love this song and my melanin! 😩🥺🥰"

**
Reply
5. Maurice Spence
"That’s deep, it’s one of my favorite lines too"

**
6. CyndyRene
"I remember my light skin cousin telling me when we were 6 that I was bald headed and ugly because I was dark skin... and I remember breaking down crying. I’m almost 30 years old and that sh&t* still makes me cry. Thank you Beyoncé for making a song that makes me feel unbelievably beautiful. :)"
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this comment.

**
Reply
7. Yezmir Sheppard-Halika
"I too had the same experiences growing up from the mixed and lightskin girls in my family. Everyone always talks about how mean dark girls are to light, but no one talks about we endured."

**
Reply
8. sogand mir
"I'm a dark skin persian and my cousin said the same thing to me. And yes still hurts"

**
Reply
9. herma bennett
"❤️❤️❤️"

**
Reply
10. "So glad to see this, and so glad she put an Indian woman in the video! I love this celebration of brown skin, and would have loved it even more if it had included more afro-Latinas, Indians and all other brown-skinned women that society has spent years gaslighting into thinking they're not beautiful!"

**
Reply
11. Azeneth Mascorro
"You're beautiful girl! But I know, I know what you're talking about. I'm mexican and it was the same here, I like to think we're getting better. 💜"

**
Reply
12. Andre leao
"In brazil we have a very simillar reality"

**
Reply
13. Lalla Mariam Habibi
"Love the skin ur in. Brown is beautiful"

**
14. Kadian Hall
" "Your skin is not only dark, it shines and it tells your story" 

Yes, yes, yes."

**
Reply
15. Tiffany
"That part Just made me shed a tear"

**
16. Hail
" "Your skin is not only dark, it shines and it tells your story." this hits so hard."
-snip-
In the context of this comment, I believe that the African American Vernacular phrase "hits hard" means the same things as something being "powerfully evocative"( bringing strong images, memories, or feelings to mind). A song or movie etc that "hits hard" really affects a person emotionally. Contrary to the online definitions that I've read,  "hits hard" doesn't have to mean that something negatively affects a person.

**
Reply
17. Christina
"Yes, probably my favorite line of the song <3 I'll use it the next time I get catcalled/harassed on the street."

**
Reply
18, _Coach Cat
"It really do!! Girl we gotta a story!! I love all my sisters regardless of color. And I show a special love to all my beautiful brown skin sistas!"

**
Reply
19. Hail
"And also the line "melanin too dark to throw her shade". Girl! Mrs. Carter is a legend."

**
20. Dejonique Thomas
"I cried watching this remembering all the times as a child I was told I was ugly because of how dark my skin is"

**
Reply
21. black pride
"Why do you have to hate your skin?"

**
Reply
22. King James
" @black pride  People grow up from little kids to adults being told brown skin is ugly and many people who have brown skin are treated worse because they have brown skin. That treatment psychologically can create self-hatred."

**
Reply
23. Random Thoughts
"We all have our insecurities brought on by other people, I'm a very light skinned black woman and I would have seen you and been jealous, I was the only light skinned person in my family and my cousins picked on me and told me I was adopted, my first husband had a fetish for dark skinned women and was always cheating on me with one, I have three brothers that will absolutely not date a light skinned woman, and I won't lie and say that my light skin or long silky hair wasn't praised by many, but I did little to fix the damage"

**
24. Dash _050
"I wish this song was released when i was a  little girl . I wouldn’t have hated my skin color growing up :(  ."

**
25. soy clown
"I ain't black nor a girl but this song hits. I am a dark-skinned  Filipino guy and was ALWAYS teased and judged for it. It made me lose my confidence, so I bleached my skin. I thought that once my skin is whiter than Snow White herself, I could finally be pleased with myself. Turns out I didn't please myself but the people sh&&ing* on me. So, five months ago, I stopped bleaching my skin and now I am back to my dark complexion. Loving it now and more confident than ever."
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this comment.

**
Reply
26. Timothy Queng
"Preaaach it brotherrrr"

**
Reply
27. Léo Remon
"You dropped something 👑"
**
Reply
28. Captain Cornetto
"Confident is the key my dude."

**
29. Daphne Marina
"That's y the song was made..she has a brown skinned daughter"

** 

2021

30. Lawson Hellu
" "Your skin is not only dark, it shines and it tells your story." Period."

**
Reply
31. dxniel
"that part made me cry and im not even black but woah, is so powerful"

**
Reply
32. RAVEENA Makhija
"@dxniel  same"

**
Reply
33. Mikeplayssax
"Your skin colour does not tell your story. What you do in life is your story. That line is pretty racist"

**
Reply
34. 29051alessandra
"@Mikeplayssax  it’s not, your skin is part of your culture, is part of the way you life with a systematic oppression (for your skin color), etc. I think that’s part of your story"

**
Reply
35. Mae Bnot42
"@Mikeplayssax  Tell wypipo that! They made our skin a problem not us."

**
Reply
36. Vincent Mabate
"@RAVEENA Makhija  my skin definitely tells my story, from the glorious ancien Egypt civilisation, to the pain of slavery, segregation, colonisation, neo-colonisation, colorism... All this lives in my genes that my ancestors gave me and my skin is the testimony of my story, African's story."

**
Reply
37. Dancemoms Lover 30
" @Mikeplayssax  your skin is a big part of your life and how others treat you, especially as a black woman so yes it does tell your story. shut up pls"

**
Reply
38. linda gegusch
"@Vincent Mabate  But it doesn't show your personality, your skills."

**
39. frog
"I love that they included a dark skinned indian girl despite awful ways bollywood has treated beyonce. As a romani person i originate from india and i love reprrsentatian

Edit: i hate the way i wrote representation"

**
40. 307f Khaldi Mohamed Anis
"Your skin is not only dark, it shines and it tells your story. The most powerful part of that song."

**
Reply
41. DDE 8
"✊🏾 don’t let anyone break you"

**
Reply
42. Vanessa Mane
"Story of slavery yeah...😐"

**
Reply
43. mkd_corazon love_dove
" @Vanessa Mane  yess and what our ancestors fought for our freedom so i am proud of them and the slavery is not the only part of black peoples history"

**
Reply
44. 307f Khaldi Mohamed Anis
" @Vanessa Mane  unfortunately this is right. Being underestimated because of our skin tone is so unjustly injust! All brown people face the same problems. We are equal. Not a single one is superior to another humankind.

#blacklivesmatter"

**
Reply
45. jgo inv
"Isnt it? Hearing it always makes me smile/feel proud. Amazing the effect a simple lyric can have on the world."

**
Reply
46. Wingand Prayer
"Thank you for this song, a childhood friend made fun of my daughter and said she was to brown to play with them. She had blonde hair and my daughter cried and wished for the same. I told her her brown skin is beautiful and they little girl is so wrong about her. Thank you for this song and to all the brown skin girls God made you beautiful!  Everyone is precious in the Father's site

 It don't matter red or yellow, black or white, He just loves ya 'cause He loves ya I tell you this is true

 

You are not a color and a color is not you!"

****
47. Pecolia Williams
"This song inspires my daughter. She told me that this song makes her feel much better about her dark skin"

**
48. Obina Uba, March 14, 2021 
"GRAMMY AWARD WINNING VIDEO I KNOW THATS RIGHT!!!"

**
49. S RJ, March 14, 2021
"Goosebumps every time. The Grammys have made several mistakes. This was not one of them."

**
50. Anisha Bhivgaje, March 14, 2021
"The message of this song alone deserved a grammy. The visuals and beyonce's voice just take it to another level.

Congratulations!! Well DESERVED!"

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.