Lyrical Lines ~ Black History Month

Tags

Abel Meeropol, Billie Holiday, Black History Month, Lyrical Lines, Strange Fruit

Southern trees bear a 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 a fruit for the crows to pluck

For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck

For the sun to rot, for the tree to drop

Here is a strange and bitter crop.

Strange Fruit, performed by Billie Holiday

Written by Abel Meeropol