Strange Fruit
Voetsek
Track 17 on Infernal Command
1 viewer
Strange Fruit Lyrics
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 twisted mouth
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh
Here is fruit the crows can 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
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 twisted mouth
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh
Here is fruit the crows can 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
About
This song bio is unreviewed
Genius Annotation
Written by Abel Meeropol, a schoolteacher from the Bronx NY, about the lynching of two black men. He published under the pen name Lewis Allan in 1937. Billie Holiday performed the song at Cafe Society in 1939 and recorded it later that year. At a time when political protest was not often expressed in musical form, the song depicted lynching in all of it’s brutality. As a result, “Strange Fruit” has been called the original American protest song of the Civil Rights Movement.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
- 1.Family Ties
- 8.Frozen Heart
- 12.Aggro Fueled
- 14.Dismember Momma
- 15.Mucho Macho
- 17.Strange Fruit
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