Thursday, August 09, 2007

Billie Holiday - 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.

The new Song I'm Pennying these days... Actually mi a do a likkle look back pon all mi drug inclined or psychotic empresses, Dinah Washington ( mi retro fantasy girl... JUICEY) and Nina Simone and Billie Holiday (mi retro Halle berry fantasy)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is a haunting song!

Billie Holiday had to change the words and sing "seven trees" instead of "southern trees" in some venues.

Have you heard Cassandra Wilson's cover?