Brown Girl In the Ring was the B-side of German disco sensation, Boney M’s #1 hit Rivers of Babylon album. Though it was originally a children’s song in Jamaica, my immigrant parents somehow had a recording of it that I used to dance around to on our 1980’s-version-of-shag carpet.

I couldn’t believe there was a song about me, a brown girl, and though I wasn’t sure why I had to be in a ring, it became a favorite of mine and still holds a special place in my heart.

After all, why wouldn’t a little Indian girl love a song from the West Indies made popular by Jamaican-born, British singers who performed under a German record producer’s label?

It’s like a virtual United Colors of Benetton ad. And that makes me happy.