STRANGE FRUIT
Abel Meeropol (later aka Lewis Allan)

Billie Holiday


Southern trees bear strange fruit 
Blood on the leaves 
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 
The scent of magnolia 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