Strange Fruit

In honor of National Black History Month, a post about one the most haunting, heart-breaking songs of the 20th century.

Strange Fruit

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.

This song began its life as a poem written by Abel Meeropol, a Jewish schoolteacher who lived in the Bronx. He set the poem to music and published it under the pseudonym of Lewis Allan. It was later famously recorded by Billie Holiday and became of sort of signature song for her as well as an iconic piece of the Civil Rights movement. 

Meeropol was inspired to write the poem after seeing this horrific photograph showing the lynching of two black men in the American South:

Quintessentially American. "Strange Fruit" is, in my opinion, the most important American poem/song of the 20th century. It's poignant, haunting words send chills down the spine. Sadness and pain ooze through Lady Day's vocals. It captures a main element of the brutal reality of what was arguably the defining issue of American life in the last hundred years—what W.E.B. Dubois called the color line—race. 

But Meeropol's outrage and the words that came from that anger inspired change and managed to turn the gruesome pasttime of photographing lynchings, creating postcards of them and passing them around like vacation souvenirs back on itself. A transmutation of evil to good.  

Also, the fact that it was written by a Jewish man and sung by an iconic African-American singer (my personal favorite) and moved the hearts of people across the continent only adds to its power and ironically, I think, conveys a latent message of hope not found (or intended) in its lyrics.

For a more detailed history of the song click here, here, and here. 

Look and Listen. Take a listen to the song:   powered by ODEO 

Or better yet, watch this video:

Sting also recorded a surprisingly moving version of the song for the 1986 compilation album called Rock for Amnesty, a fundraiser for the human rights organization Amnesty International. I'll link if I can find that version, but in the meantime, this video's not bad (though, frankly not as haunting and spare as the album version). 

Glimpses of Evil. For more on the history of lynching postcards, please check out this site: Without Sanctuary. It's a difficult visit, but it is an integral part of American history, and one I think we shouldn't shy away from if we're to continue moving forward.