The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #137067   Message #3134726
Posted By: Gibb Sahib
13-Apr-11 - 08:15 PM
Thread Name: Origins: Brown Skin Girl- folksong from Grenada
Subject: RE: Origins: Brown Skin Girl- folksong from Grenad
Hello Morwen,

No, I am sorry I don't have any specific ideas right now. However, I find the topic interesting and had come back to this thread several times. I am interested in Caribbean music, but I mainly know about Jamaican stuff.

[Along those lines, I do know of a Jamaican mento song called "Brownskin girl," but it is different.]

Threads here often take a while to "develop." Oftentimes someone (years later!) will be thinking of the same question, and then discover this thread while searching. Then they will post something that will open up a new avenue. I (and I'm sure a few others) are watching this with interest, and waiting to jump in if they have an idea. I am sorry I don't have any spectacular idea right now, but now that I have a sense of what you're looking for, I (and others) are better "poised" :) to jump in if an idea pops up.

FWIW (and I'm sure you know this already) it often helps to familiarize yourself with other songs/music in the genre, and then ideas start to emerge -- i.e. rather than just focusing on one song. At least, it gives you something to do while waiting for answers!

Random thoughts... in African-American/Caribbean music, the epithet of "brown-skin girl" seems pretty common. It is complimentary; "brown" is, dubiously, considered more appealing than "black," and often implies a mulatto.
Since this phrase is common -- and possibly too general to give good results -- you may want to focus your searches on something more particular, like "mind your baby." I imagine that variations of this might conceivably say "Yellow Girl" or "downtown girl" or "Kingston girl" or etc etc.

girl/gal/gyal
baby/baybee/pickney