Billie Holiday first recorded this song in 1939 and it became a regular song in her live performances ever since. It is said that she broke down as she sang it on many occasions because it reminded her of her father. There is no greater racial protest song than this... as it deals with the lynching of the African Americans during the slavery days. It was originally a poem by Abel Meeropol but Billie Holiday gives it so much emotion that Abel would have to be proud of it's new art form giving out the message he wrote about in the first place..... and the wider audience associated with Billie Holiday. For those out there unaware of the legacy of Billie Holiday, start here and when you finally get past the importance of this song, then you can enjoy the rest of her musical output. This is the musical equivalent of Nelson Mandela's sacrifice to humanity and racial equality.
Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.
Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.
Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.
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