Is The Caribbean Game Song "Brown Girl In The Ring" Racist?

JAFS Project,  Dec 15, 2018

18,759 views • Dec 15, 2018

Traditional Jamaica ring game called Brown Girl In the Ring, performed in Westmoreland Jamaica.

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Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision : July 19, 2026

This pancocojams post presents information about the Jamaican originated children's game "Brown Girl In The Ring".

This post also includes my opinion about whether "Brown Girl In The Ring" is racist as well as selected comments on this subject from a YouTube discussion thread for a Boney M video of this song. This post also includes an example of a 1904 version of this song and includes my editorial comments about whether "Brown Girl In The Ring" is racist.

In addition, this post showcases several YouTube videos of  the Jamaican circle game "Brown Girl In The Ring" with selected comments from some of these videos' discussion threads.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the unknown composer/s of this song. Thanks to all those who are featured in these showcase videos and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to he publishers of these videos on YouTube.
-snip-
This post has been extensively revised since its initial publication on pancocojams in 2017.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/01/theres-brown-girl-in-ring-youtube.html. . Most of the YouTube examples, lyrics, and comments in that post were included in the original 2017 post.

Also, click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/11/boney-m-brown-girl-in-ring-video-lyrics.html Boney M - Brown Girl In The Ring (Video, Lyrics, & Comments) for another pancocojams post about the song "Brown Girl In The Ring". That post showcases a different Boney M clip of this song than the clip that is shown in this post.

This pancocojams post showcases YouTube examples of the Jamaican circle song "There's A Brown Girl in The Ring".  Information about an 1904 version of this song is included in this post along with some lyric examples of this song.

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IS THE GAME SONG "BROWN GIRL IN THE RING" RACIST?

I believe that the concerns about whether the "Brown Girl In The Ring" song and game are racist reflect the heightened awareness in some people (particularly White people) that favoring one race over another is wrong. The people who are questioning the racist or non-racist nature of this song and game are trying to eradicate elements of racism from the pay activities of their children and the children they teach or otherwise interact.

Since at least the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, "colorblindness" is largely considered the ideal value to have in the United States and in most other nations throughout the world, My guess is the reason why people have concerns about the "Brown Girl In The Ring" game song is that the lyrics of that song can be seen as promoting one race or one skin color over others. A very successfulr example of society cleansing a children's recreational rhyme of racist content is removing the "N word" from the "Eenie Meenie Miney Mo" rhyme and substituting another word. That change has worked so well that most people don't know that the N word was ever a part of that rhyme."

The concern that "There's A Brown Girl In The Ring" is racist could be true in the 2020s if the people playing that game chose to have racist viewpoints-meaning if they  sing that song  or play that game to call negative attention to players with that skin color. However, historically, "There's A Brown Girl In The Ring" ( or it's earlier version "There's A Black Boy In The Ring" ) was sung to help Black children develop and reinforce positive self-esteem and group esteem.

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THE COLOR REFERENT "BROWN" IN THIS GAME SONG REPLACED THE EARLIER REFERENT "BLACK
"There's A Brown Girl In The Ring" can be considered to be suspect regarding its use of skin color referents because at least one early example of that song used the word "black" instead of "brown". 

The earliest example of "There's A Brown Girl In The Ring" that I've come across was published in a 1904 collection Jamaican Song and Story: Annancy stories, digging sings, ring tunes, and dancing tunes by Walter Jekyll. The title of that game song was "There's A Black Boy In The Ring".

A digital version of this book can be found at https://www.gutenberg.org/files/35410/35410-h/35410-h.htm#Page_207. [This singing game is actually on page 208] .

Here are the lyrics to that song along with the collector's notes.

There's a black boy in a ring, tra la la la la, There's a black boy in a ring, tra la la la la, There's a black boy in a ring, tra la la la la, He like sugar an' I like plum. Wheel an' take you pardner, jump shamador! Wheel an' take you pardner, jump shamador! Wheel an' take you pardner, jump shamador! For he like sugar an' I like plum.

The boy inside the ring chooses his partner, whom he leaves there after the dance. She obtains release by choosing another partner, whom she leaves behind. So there is alternately a boy and a girl in the ring.

"Shamador" is possibly a corruption of "camerado."
-end of quote-
"Camerado" is probably a variant spelling of "comrade" (friend).

Presumably, as is the case for contemporary versions of this song, while playing this game, the gender referent "boy" was changed to "girl" when it was (is) a boy's turn to be in the middle of the circle. The use of "boy"  instead of "girl" in that 1904 example could reflect the early 20th century's preference for boys over girls. And, the use of "girl" instead of "boy" in later versions of that game song could reflect the fact that circle singing games came to be considered as recreational activities mostly for girls rather than as co-ed activities. (The recent de-emphasizing gender because of the LTBGQ movement didn't affect the historical use of gender terms in this song, but certainly could be a reason why some people nowadays frown upon this song.)

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I don't know when or why the color referent in this game song changed from "Black" to "Brown"

Did people change the color referent in this song from "Black" to "Brown" because "black" was considered a pejorative racial and/or skin color referent that no one playing that game wanted to be associated with? Said differently, did a growing number of Jamaicans where this song was composed favor being brown skinned (lighter) than being darker skinned?

And/or was a version of this song that used the "brown girl" rather than the "black boy" words so popular that people sang those words and by force of repetition, that wording became the standard?
 

By 1946/1947 the eminent Trinidadian Calypsonian Lord Invader wrote his version of this game song with the and title "Brown Girl In A Ring". 

Here's Lord Invader's Calypso version of that game song:

Yes sir

Very often i am left amazed

when i remember my childhood days

when me and my girlfriend used to play about together

and sing the song of hug and kiss your partner

There's a brown girl in the ring

Traala lala la

There's a brown girl in the ring

Trala lala lala

Brown girl in the ring

Trala lala la

And She looks like a sugar on a plum (plum, plum)

You'll show me your motion

Trala lala la

You'll show me your motion

Trala lala lala

Show me your motion

Traala lala la

And She looks like a sugar on a plum (plum, plum)

You'll hug and kiss your partner

Traala lala la

You'll hug and kiss your partner

Traala lala lala

hug and kiss your partner

Traala lala la

And She looks like a sugar on a plum (plum, plum)

But now that i reached to maturity

I know how happy my childhood days used to be

But now the kids haven't got no responsibility

They are taken care of by their families

Anything they need, they just have to say

And after school at home all day will go and play

There's a brown girl in the ring...

Now if i happen to be reincarnated

I like to do the same things i did as a kid

when I'm permitted to have my fun at times

With my playmates i'll sing some nursery rhymes

Whether in my backyard, or in the playground

We will join together and sing this song

There's a brown girl in the ring...

And Miss Lilly White looks so fresh and gay

With a bunch of roses by her side

Give her the kisses, one, two  three,

Wonder who shall be her bride.

Show me your motion ...

- posted on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0lp40UnuBM Lord Invader - "There's A Brown Girl In The Ring" by [commenter] SenhorBovinoGadoso, 2015

-end of quote-
Notice the "brown" and "White" color references in Lord Invader's version of "There's A Brown Girl In The Ring". Lord Invader's song could have helped standardize the "brown girl" rather than "black boy" words in that game song. However, it appears the "brown girl" words were used during Lord Invader's childhood. 

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The next two sections of this pancocojams post provide some historical and current usages of the word "brown" in Jamaica when it is used to refer to certain populations.

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19th CENTURY MEANINGS OF THE WORD "BROWN" IN JAMICA 
Judging by Jamaican sea chanties, since at least the 19th century in Jamaica, the word "brown" used as a skin color referent means "light skinned" and/or mixed race (i.e. Black mixed with White and/or another race. "Sally Brown" shanties are examples of the 19th century use of "brown" as skin color references in Jamaica and elsewhere.

Here's some information about Sally Brown shanties from my 2012 pancocojams post with that title:
" "Sally Brown" is a Jamaican sea shanty about a mixed race (mulatto; Creole) woman. Like all shanties, there are multiple versions of "Sally Brown". In addition to the song titled "Sally Brown", there are many other shanties that mention "Sally" and "Sally Brown".

The surname (last name) "Brown" may have referred to Sally's mixed race ancestry. Note that the word "shallow" (challow) in the song "Shallow Brown" means a person of mixed race."
-end of quote-
In the Jamaican sea shantie "Roll And Go", Sally Brown is referred to as a "bright mulatto". In those lyrics "bright" very light and "mulatto" is a person who has one Black birth parent and one White birth parent. (The term "mulatto" has been retired from formal usage in the United States since around the mid 1960s). "Bright mulatto" means the same thing as the United States term "high yellow". That term has also been retired from formal usage since at least the mid 20th century.

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EARLY 20th CENTURY EXAMPLES OF THE WORD "BROWN" IN JAMAICAN SONGS
There are numerous other Jamaican examples of folk songs which feature a person whose last name is "Brown". One example that interested me was  

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JAMAICAN PATOIS DEFINITIONS FOR "BROWN" AND "BROWNING"

Here's a Jamaican Patois definition for "brown" from https://jamaicanpatwah.com/term/Brown-man/1311#.Y8BszHbMK1s

Brown man (Noun)

English Translation

Light skinned black male

Definition

Slang expression used to refer to a light skinned black male

Example Sentences

Patois: Who dah brown man deh ova deh suh?

English: Who’s that light skinned black man over there?"

 posted by anonymous on September 10, 2013

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Here's a Jamaican Patois definition of the word "browning" from  https://jamaicanpatwah.com/term/Browning/928#.Y8BtGXbMK1s

Browning

English Translation

Mixed race

Definition

a person who is mixed race with light skin

Example Sentences

Patois: Look pon dah browning deh!

English: Look at that light skin person

posted by alicia.dean.7940 on March 22, 2017
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Dancehall star Buju Banton had a smash hit called "Love My Browning" in 1992. In that song he may have been referring to mixed race women or to light skin women whether they be mixed race or not. He later recorded a song about how he loves "all Black women". https://genius.com/Buju-banton-love-black-woman-lyric

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WHY DO PEOPLE THINK THAT "BROWN GIRL IN THE RING" IS RACIST
1. I believe that some people think that "Brown Girl In The Ring" is racist because they believe that any mention of race or skin color is racist. 

For what it's worth, I don't agree with that. 

Under some circumstances, I believe that it is appropriate and perhaps even necessary to use racial or skin color references- for instance for descriptive purposes that don't have or imply a positive or negative valuation.

I believe that the words "There's a brown girl in the ring" (with its earlier words "There's a Black boy in the ring" was written to describe who was playing that game. Given the oppression and prejudice that children of African descent or some African descent live/d under, my guess is that that skin color reference was purposely used to boost up the self-esteem and the group esteem of those children.

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2. Some people think that "brown" in the song "Brown Girl In The Ring" means a light skinned Black person, some other light skinned person who isn't White, and/or a mixed race person.

Those people who think that might also believe that the song (or people who play that game)  encourages children to favor light skinned/mixed race people over other people.
Doing so would be an example of colorism. Colorism means the preference of one skin color over others, for instance favoring light skin Black people over dark skin Black people. 

Here's a comment exchange from the discussion thread for the  YouTube video of Jamaican school girls playing "Brown Girl In The Ring" that is embedded at the top of this pancocojams post. That comment exchange includes a comment that I wrote:

(Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.)
 

1. Phillip M. Ranglin, 2021
"Did someone stop a girl at the start, saying that she’s not brown?"

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Reply
2. JAFSProject, 2021
"Yes. Right around 6 seconds. I never noticed it before. I can't say that I'm surprised. Unfortunately there is quite a bit of colorism in the schools, and in society here."

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Reply
3. Lael Wildgoose, 2021
"I definitely didnt see or hear it...

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Reply
4. Ms Sophia Ffrench, 2022
"Yes that's what I hear🤣🤣

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Reply
Azizi Powell, 2023
"@JAFSProject ,I revisited this video because I read a comment in the Wikipedia page about colorism in Jamaica that states that "Colorism in Jamaica was perpetuated through social and cultural institutions such as music, social games, sports, and school [28] For example, in one particular school-yard game, Jamaican children have been heard chanting "Brown girl in the ring." According to Dr. Petra Robinson, in her dissertation, the game promotes a preference for 'brown skin girls' over dark-skinned ones,"

I assume that Dr. Robinson meant "lighter brown skinned girls over "darker" brown skinned girls.  I'd like to read her dissertation to see how she arrived at that conclusion instead of interpreting "brown" as a group referent for all Black people in Jamaica (as well as as a group referent for other non-White girls in that nation).

With regard to this video,  It appears to me that all but one of the girls in this video are the same Brown skin color. The girl who appears to be a little lighter  than the others isn't the one who is addressed (at .06 in this video). I believe that one girl told the other something like "You're not brown". I think this comment might have meant something innocuous like "You already had a turn being the brown girl in the ring" or "It's not your turn to be the brown girl in the ring".

As such, I don't think this video is an example of colorism."

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SOME CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE "BROWN GIRL IN THE RING" COULD BE PROBLEMATIC 
The singing game "Brown Girl In The Ring" could be problematic if children sing this song in a majority White setting where there is only one or only a few children of color (meaning "children of some black African descent and/or other children whose skin complexion is brown). I've read comments about brown skinned girls who were given “the honor” or the responsibility of playing the role of the "brown girl in the ring". Even if other people thought/think that this is an honor, it may not be considered that way by those "brown skinned girls" or "brown skinned boys" (when the song is sung to reflect the gender of the child who happens to be in the middle).

Read the comments that are quoted in the Addendum below. 

The "Brown Girl In A Ring" game song can be problematic if the words are adapted to reflect the races/ethnicities of children playing that game. People usually use visual clues such as skin color, facial features, and hair texture to guess what race/ethnicity a person is part of. Those visual clues may be wrong, the person could be of ambiguous ethnicity, and/or the person may consider themselves to be a member of more than one racial/ethnic group. 

I cringe at the thought of children changing the words to "Brown Girl In The Ring" when a girl who looks "White" is in the middle of the ring or when a girl who is Asian in the middle of the ring: i. e, "There's a White girl in the ring tra la la la la" and "There's an Asian girl in the ring tra la la la la." And what of children who are first generation mixed race? Having other people decide which race/ethnicity a mixed racial person is a part of can exacerbate the issues many mixed race people have with the racial identity.

I also cringe at the thought of children changing the words to "Brown Girl In The Ring" using other skin color references such as "yellow" for Asians and "red" for Native Americans, etc..

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MY RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT THE GAME SONG "THERE'S A BROWN GIRL IN THE RING"
Despite what I consider its pleasant, catchy tune, and its creative lyrics, and more positive attributes, given the racial (and sometimes racist) environment that children still have to navigate in the 2000s, my recommendation is to err on the side of caution and NOT include this song in children's music curriculum, unless it is for older children who are studying the history of folk songs.

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ADDENDUM: SELECTED COMMENTS FROM A BONEY M VIDEO OF "BROWN GIRL IN THE RING"

Here are some comments from a Boney M video's discussion thread in which the commenters mention racism:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1So7q6IfJ4&feature=emb_logo

(Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.)   

1. mr y mysterious video, 2009

"true story....

when i was about 6, there was only one black girl in our whole school in wales.

they played this song at our xmas party, we all sat in a circle while she danced for our entertainment - it wasn't a racist thing though - we were being literal and she seemed to enjoy herself."

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2. Becca Secret, 2009
"funny, my aunt thought this song was rascist xxx"

 11. mr y mysterious video

"i was 7, at school in ely, cardiff, wales.

it was christmas, the entire school gathered in a big circle while the sole black girl in school stood in the middle and danced with all her heart to this song - a true story.

and yet... it was all so innocent, nobody had any malice but they wouldn't try that these days!"

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3. mr y mysterious video, 2012

"i was 7, at school in ely, cardiff, wales.

it was christmas, the entire school gathered in a big circle while the sole black girl in school stood in the middle and danced with all her heart to this song - a true story.

and yet... it was all so innocent, nobody had any malice but they wouldn't try that these days!"  

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4. RichXboxOne, 2015
"This is an excellent song, but if it was released now, the PC Brigade and the Loony left would complain about it being racist. "

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5. Francisco Castillo Mata,2017 
"Qué bonitas son las pieles morenas, y cuanto han sido maltratadas por el " hombre blanco" ( y lo siguen siendo, más sutilmente, tal vez ). En un tiempo lejano, todos fuimos negros, o de un color oscuro. Son los orígenes de toda la humanidad. En EEUU, por ejemplo, todavía hay muchísimo racismo, y a veces no se molestan ni en disimularlo ( también en España, por supuesto). Bueno, el vídeo es encantador, y la música muy contagiosa. Solo espero que no me fusilen por haber expresado ciertas ideas, y que la USA Air Forcé no me bombardee."

Google translate from Spanish to English:

"How beautiful are the brown skins, and how much they have been battered by the "white man" (and they are still, more subtly, perhaps). In a distant time, we were all black, or a dark color. They are the origins of all humanity. In the US, for example, there is still a lot of racism, and sometimes they do not bother or disguise it (also in Spain, of course). Well, the video is charming, and the music very contagious. I just hope they do not shoot me for expressing certain ideas, and that the USA Air Force did not bomb me."

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6. Ravneet Bains, 2018
"My mum just told me thought this song was about Asian girls back in the 1980's and she felt very offended at the time because she thought they where being racist. Now she has got over once I told her that the song is light skin black women."

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Boney M - Brown Girl In The Ring (Video, Lyrics, & Comments)

Boney M, May 29, 2015

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Edited by Azizi Powell

Revised: March 5, 2017

This pancocojams post features a video of Boney M singing the Caribbean children's song "Brown Girl In The Ring" in 1979. This post also provides the text of that version, as well as comments about the "Brown Girl In The Ring" game song.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric and entertainment purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the unknown composer/s of this original children's song and thanks to the composer of Boney M's version of this song. Thanks to Boney M for their musical legacy, thanks to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publisher of this post on YouTube.
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The version of the Boney M video that was originally showcased in this post is no longer available (as of March 5, 2017). I embedded another video of Boney M singing that song. 

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INFORMATION ABOUT BONEY M
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boney_M.
Boney M. is a vocal group created by German record producer Frank Farian. Originally based in West Germany, the four original members of the group's official line-up were Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett from Jamaica, Maizie Williams from Montserrat and Bobby Farrell from Aruba. The group was formed in 1975 and achieved popularity during the disco era of the late 1970s. The group has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide with most sales in the UK and Germany.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE BONEY M VERSION OF "BROWN GIRL IN THE RING"
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Girl_in_the_Ring_(song)
"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"...

"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.[3]
1993 Remix."

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LYRICS: BROWN GIRL IN THE RING*
(Boney M version)

Brown girl in the ring
Tra la la la la
There's a brown girl in the ring
Tra la la la la la
Brown girl in the ring
Tra la la la la
She looks like a sugar in a plum
Plum plum

Show me your motion
Tra la la la la
Come on show me your motion
Tra la la la la la
Show me your motion
Tra la la la la
She looks like a sugar in a plum
Plum plum

Blue Hill water* run dry
Got nowhere to wash my clothes
Blue Hill water* run dry
Got nowhere to wash my clothes

I remember one Saturday night
We had fried fish and Johnny-cakes
I remember one Saturday night
We had fried fish and Johnny-cakes

Beng-a-deng
Beng-a-deng

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*These lyrics were added to the March 5, 2017 embedded video's discussion thread by Ashraf Ali (in January 2017). Asharaf Ali gave "Blue Hill water" as "old headwaters". I believe "old headwaters" is an incorrect transcription. "Blue Hill" refers to a location in Jamaica).

Here are some explanations about words in this song:
"ring" = circle

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"in the ring" = standing in the middle of a circle

"She looks like a sugar in a plum" - My guess is that this means that the girl looks very sweet.

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"johnny-cake"
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnnycake
"Johnnycake (also jonnycake, johnny cake, journey cake, shawnee cake and johnny bread) is a cornmeal flatbread that was an early American staple food and is prepared on the Atlantic coast from Newfoundland to Jamaica."

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Two Examples Of The Caribbean Game Song "In A Fine Castle"

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents two text examples of the Caribbean game song "In A Fine Castle".

For another pancocojams post about this Caribbean game song which includes a link to a sound file of that song, click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/08/example-of-in-fine-castle-brown-girl-in.html Example Of "In A Fine Castle" - Brown Girl In The Ring Album & Book.

The content of this post is presented for recreational, folkloric, educational, and aesthetic purposes.

All rights to this material remain with their owners.

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FEATURED EXAMPLES
(These examples are presented in no particular order.)

Example #1
From
http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/boardarchives/2003/mar2003/childrengames.html posted by Nalo 3/7/03
...And there's a Caribbean nursery rhyme that's haunted me for years, but I haven't yet figured out the story I want to write around it yet:

In a fine castle,
Do you hear, my sissie-o?

Ours is the prettiest,
Do you hear, my sissie-o?

We want one of them,
Do you hear, my sissie-o?

Which one do you want?
Do you hear, my sissie-o?

The rhyme is sung by two groups of children holding hands in two rings, with each group alternating verses. They get into haggling, all in rhyme, over which person they want from the other group, and what gift they will give her if s/he comes. That's where the children get to invent. There's much giggling over disgusting gifts that the group comes up with, with the other group responding in song, "That don't suit her, do you hear, my sissie-o?". When the supplicant group tires of it, they start offering appealing gifts until the other group agrees to send one of their number over, sings him or her a farewell, and the song starts again."

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Example #2
http://www.bigdrumnation.org/poetry/games.htm

"Ring Game
In my young days, first half of the sixties, I recall that we were the fortunate one in the neighborhood to have a radio. The Beatles, Peter, Paul and Mary and the like are what I recall hearing. As school days began in the latter half of the sixties, cultural (local) music began to be a part of my life. The ring games, both those approved by the teachers and those scorned were of great interest. They were mainly mating games. I think they played an integral part in moulding the minds of the future adults.

Official class ring game: On person is picked as "It" and stands in the middle of the ring. The ring is formed by all classmates holding hands. Alternate bous and girls.

It: In a fine castle (Well Carriacou still have none)
Ring: Do you hear my CeeCee Oh? (What on earth is a CCO)
It: I love one of them.
Ring: Which is the one do you love?
It: I love Mary. (If brave you name the one you dote)
Ring: What will you give to her?
It: I will give her a diamond ring. (Well that was a real fantasy for me thinking that diamond was a metal like gold. Other more realistic
offerings included, "Plate of Coocoo, Rice and peas etc. Food was the most popular.)
Ring: Go away Mary. Go and take your Diamond ring.
Go and join your Cee Cee band.

Mary will now be "It" "

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S COMMENTS
Example #2 is from the Caribbean island of Carriacou.
"bous" is undoubtedly a typo for the word "boys".

The word "Ring" in these examples means those children forming the circle.

As to the question "What on earth is a CCO", "CeeCee o" is a folk etymology form of the word "Sissy" with the "o" added for lyrical enhancement. The children's song "Bingo" which includes the line "and Bingo was his name-o" is a familiar example in the United States of a children's song that uses the lyrical enhancement of ending words with the letter "o". Ending a line in a song or rhyme with the letter "o" is found in the widely known [in the USA] children's song "Bingo" and the also widely known USA folk song "The Fox Went Out On A Chilly Night".

"Sissy" is a shortened form of the word "sister". That nickname is used as a referent for a girl by her family and by others regardless of that girl's given first name. The Anglo-American actress Sissy Spacek may be an example of the name "Sissy" that is familiar to persons in the USA. The African American singing game "Sissy In The Barn" is another example of a game song that includes the nickname "Sissy".

In contemporary American English, the line "Do you hear me Sissy o?" could be given as "Do you understand what I'm saying, Sissy?". Those forms are easier to understand than the lines "Do you hear me CeeCee O?" or "Do you hear my sisi-o?".

Paraphrasing what I read from the British folklorists Iona and Peter Opie [as found in the aforementioned Brown Girl In A Ring post about this song], "In A Fine Castle" is a dramatic play that has its source in a song or songs about females in one castle - represented by one circle -being courted by males from another castle - repesented by a second circle. Given that description, I wonder if Caribbean boys used to play this game with girls, with each gender forming their own circle. From the examples of this game that I've read online, it seems that, like most playground singing games nowadays, "In A Fine Castle" is only or mostly played by girls.

For what it's worth, my maternal grandfather was from Trinidad and my maternal grandmother was from Barbabos. However, I don't ever remember my grandparents sharing any information about Caribbean game songs or other aspects of Caribbean culture with me, my siblings, my cousins, or my mother (who was born in the USA) and her siblings (most of whom were born in Barbados but came to the USA as children or teens. Furthermore, I had never heard of the song or game "In A Fine Castle" until I read about it in the Brown Girl In The Ring book.

The slow tempo & lack of percussive rhythm of the "In A Fine Castle" song and therefore that game's lack of accompanying percussive, dance movements such as hip shaking or foot stomping, and the length of time it would take to play this game cause me to very much doubt whether "In A Fine Castle" would appeal to African American children nowadays - or even when I was a child in the 1950s.

That said, judging from its mention on various blogs about Caribbean childhoods, there's no question that "In A Fine Castle" seems to have been quite popular among people in Trinidad and other West Indian nations up to at least the 1970s. Furthermore, "In A Fine Castle" appears to be used quite often as the title of various Caribbean literary works. One example is the 1970 play by Derek Alton Walcott, a Saint Lucian poet and playwright who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1992. Another example is Eutille E. Duncan's children's book by that title whose link is given below. I wonder if children in Trinidad and in other Caribbean islands still play this game.

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RELATED LINK
A partial example of "In A Fine Castle" from the book by that title by Eutille E. Duncan is available online at http://books.google.com/books/about/In_a_Fine_Castle.html?id=V_N-vx9mgDkC (page 81-83).
That book is a story about a girl coming of age in Trinidad and Tobago. In that account, the game is played by two circles of 11 year old girls.

Page 80 isn't available online. The song begins on
page 81 begins with the line “We want one of them Do you hear my Sisi O?”

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
Thanks to all those who have shared examples of this song in records, books, blogs, and otherwise.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Viewer comments are welcome.

Example Of "In A Fine Castle" - From Brown Girl In The Ring Album & Book

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post presents the lyrics, performance information, and comments about the Caribbean game song "In A Fine Castle" as given in the Brown Girl In The Ring album & book. This post also includes a link to a sound file of that game song from that album. Unfortunately, to date, I've not been able to locate an online video of "In A Fine Castle".

The content of this post is presented for recreational, folkloric, educational, and aesthetic purposes.

All rights to this material remain with their owners.

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SOUND FILE
From
http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1144506/a/Caribbean+Voyage%3A+Brown+Girl+In+The+Ring.htm Caribbean Voyage: Brown Girl In The Ring Album collected & documented by Alan Lomax, J.D. Elder, and Bess Lomax Hawes, recorded in 1962

A brief clip of "In A Fine Castle" is given as #7 on that list of songs.

-snip-
A text version of this song that was collected by those editors is given below.

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FEATURED EXAMPLE
From Brown Girl In The Ring: An Anthology Of Songs Games from the Eastern Caribbean collected & documented by Alan Lomax, J.D. Elder, and Bess Lomax Hawes (New York, Pantheon Books, 1998, pps 18-21)

IN A FINE CASTLE
Sung by a group of adults and children in La Plaine, Dominica, also by two women in Lopinot, Trinidad, and by a group of girls aged ten to fourteen at the San Juan Girl's Government School, San Juan, Trinidad....

All children:
In a fine castle
Do you hear my sisi-o?
In a fine castle
Do you hear my sisi-o?

Group I:
Mine (Ours) is the prettiest,
Do you hear my sisi-o?
Mine (Ours) is the prettiest,
Do you hear my sisi-o?

Group II:
I (We) want one of them, etc.
Group I:
Which of them do you want? etc.
Group II:
I (We) want Antoni, etc.
Group I:
What will you give her?

At this point a series of inappropriate gifts may be offered - rotten figs, soursops, stuffed rats - all of which are refused, as this example shows

Group II: We'll give her a rotten fig, etc.
Group I: That won't suit her, etc.

The players then think up the finest gifts imaginable - motorcars, wedding rings, golden chains - all or one may be accepted.

Group II: We'll give her a radiogram, etc.
Group I: Well, Antoni,
Go and take your radiogram [Repeat the two
lines].

TO PLAY
Several different formations are used.

1. In two facing lines Groups I and II march in turn towards the other during the first two lines of each verse and retreat during the last two. Or:
2. From a single circle, one child outside the ring chooses one player to join him during each repetition of the game until the whole circle has shifted over.
3. (As practiced in a Trinidad schoolyard.) In two circles side by side, each ring holds hands and swings them in time as the sing alternate verses to each other. During verse 2 (which is sung by Circle I) Circle II whispers ear-to-ear the name of the selected child. Similarly, while Circle I sings "What will you give her," Circle II decides the item to be offered (always something unpleasant for the first offer and something pleasant for the second.) During the verse "That won't suit her," the players in Circle I stamp their feet in rhythm. In the final verse the child selected leaves his own circle and goes to join the other. Circle II then starts the song again for a second repetition, and it becomes their turn to select a child from Circle I.

ABOUT THE GAME
This drama of courship resembls the ancient British song game "Three Knights From Spain" (see "One Spaniard Came", p. 24) but demonstrates a Caribbean content and flavor. The British scholars of children's lore, Iona and Peter Opie, trace a marvelously complex route for the historical distribution of the parent game from the medieval courts of France and Italy to Great Britain during the nineteenth century to the United States, to the Caribbean, and back to Great Britain during World War II via American Air Force and immigrant West Indian familes. They quote a ten-year-old West Indian girl speaking in London in 1975 "We used to play that game a long time ago, about two years ago just among ourselves... Nobody ever did see Sisi and I don't know who she is, unless she is somebody's sister. And I don't know where the game came from, it just arrived."

The game did indeed just arrive in many places around the world, ordinarily played to some variation of the generic, far flung melody known in the United States as "Skip To My Lou". The wide international distribution of the game may account for the number of formations in which it is played. The Opies feel that the oldest is the double ring formation in which the two circles represented rival castles.

-End of quote-
These lyric are posted without the underlined syllables or words that were written that to indicate musical accents. One sentence about the Caribbean music style was given before the lyrics.

I posted the editor's comments in italics to clarify that those were not the song's lyrics.

A musical transcription of "In A Fine Castle" is also given in that book.

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RELATED LINK
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/08/two-examples-of-caribbean-game-song-in.html for two additional versions of "In A Fine Castle" and my comments about that game song.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
Thanks to Alan Lomax, J.D. Elder, and Bess Lomax Hawes for their documentation of this game song. Thanks also to all those who performed this song for those folklorists.

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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Viewer comments are welcome.