Strange Fruit

Overview:

Name of song - Strange Fruit

Name of musician - Written by Abel Meeropol but became known under artist Billie Holiday.

Problem being protested - The song was a critique of lynching and race terrorism in the American South. The song was an early cry for civil rights, but one that ultimately rested on an existing anger shared by progressives, blacks and artists about America’s state of race.

Significance in history - Billie Holiday was basically singing America into the beginning of the Civil Rights Era, as it was one of the first times such a sensitive topic was mentioned and criticized, especially by a black person.

The Song:

Sample of 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 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

Relevance of the words and phrases selected. Is the song convincing in its message?

The first verse introduces the scene to us. The southern trees bearing strange fruits refers to black people being hung in the south of America. At the slightest suspicion for anything, black people were chased, beaten and hung without trial. They are the strange fruits hanging from the tree, leaving blood on leaves and roots since they were often beaten before.

The second verse talks about the irony and the contrast of what the south is known for, and the truth. The south of america is referred to as the gallant south with the scent of magnolias which is sweet and fresh. In mid of this beautiful description, there are bulging eyes and twisted mouths from dead bodies hanging from the trees, and the scent of burning flesh, since some black americans were directly burned.

The last verse is rather straigh tforward. The dead body is a ‘fruit’ for the crows to pluck, the rain to ‘wash’ away, the wind to jerk, the sun to rot and burn, and the trees to drop.

Relevance​:

Trivia related to the events, people, and places:

The song was first written by teacher Abel Meeropol (pen name: Lewis Allan) as a poem and published in 1937. However, it became known by artist Billie Holiday, who first sang it as a cabaret show in Café society, and first recorded it in 1939. The audience at Café Society was mostly white; the music was mostly black; Meeropol was the Jewish "middleman" bringing the two together. "Strange Fruit" reversed the usual relationship between black performer and white audience, forcing both to confront the realities of racism in America.

The reasons you selected this song and/or musician

I looked up famous protest songs and had a list of songs I liked and potentially wanted to use. I ended up choosing “Strange Fruit” since I like how the lyrics mock this horrifying issue by comparing it to beautiful things, such as fruits hanging from the trees, while describing the beauty of the area in contrast to dead bodies.

External links

"Billie Holiday - Strange Fruit (Commodore Recording) 1939." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KLl-vrH6Sc>.

Blair, Elizabeth. "The Strange Story Of The Man Behind 'Strange Fruit'" NPR Music. NPR, 5 Sept. 2012. Web. 14 Nov. 2015. <http://www.npr.org/2012/09/05/158933012/the-strange-story-of-the-man-behind-strange-fruit>.

"Strange Fruit Lyrics." Strange Fruit - Lyrics. Lyricsfreak, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2015. <http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/billie+holiday/strange+fruit_20017859.html>.

Images:

<http://www.radiodiaries.org/wp-content/uploads/Strange-Fruit_001_L.jpg>

<http://libela.org/px/article/_s/strange-fruit1.jpg>