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,
Of 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


Lyrics submitted by post-punker

Strange Fruit Lyrics as written by Lewis Allen

Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

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Strange Fruit (Billie Holiday cover) song meanings
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    General Comment

    Wow, I never knew Siouxsie did this song. It is a cover, by Billie Holiday. We did a poetry unit in English class this year, and we analized this poem/song. Fantastic.

    Loveless333on February 05, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    SEVERIN: "I don't think Siouxsie had heard Billie Holiday before we listened to 'Strange Fruit'. And I think that anyone can sing a protest song. But what interested us most about 'Strange Fruit' was the fact that originally there was no set music, what with it being based on an old poem." Source: NME 21/03/87.

    SEVERIN: " 'Strange Fruit' was Carruthers' idea, though I thought we should add a New Orleans funeral march in the middle." Source: The Authorised Biography 2002.

    JJKelsallon December 01, 2012   Link

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