Strange Fruit
	Lewis Allen, Sonny White
	Seven trees Bearin' strange fruit Blood on the leaves And blood at the roots Black bodies Swinging in the southern breeze Strange fruit hangin' From the poplar trees Pastoral scene Of the gallant south Them big bulging eyes And the twisted mouth Scent of magnolia Clean and fresh Then the sudden smell Of burnin' 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 leaves to drop Here is Strange and bitter crop As singed by Billie Holiday 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 cry.
	"Strange Fruit" is one of the most haunting melodies and politically correct verses that Billie Holiday ever sung. It was written by Lewis Allan, a poet. But Columbia records, which interestingly had recorded "race music" and racial jokes, refused to deal with Allan's poignant prose because they didn't want to offend their Southern white customers by promoting the song's explicit and vivid exposure of the racist lynchings then rampant in the region. Lady Day, however, was determined to make a profound statement against lynching by recording the torturous tune. Ignoring Columbia's advice, she cut a deal with Commodore Records, which first recorded the composition during a 1939 session. ... Throughout the years, "Strange Fruit" has also been recorded by such other prominent African-American singers as the late Josh White and Carment McRae as well as the enigmatic, exiled Nina Simone -- all brilliant. Even as Diana Ross, the supreme Motown pop divacum-actress, gave her rendition in "Lady Sings the Blues," the slick, glamorized cinematic treatment of Billie's life, adapted from a less than reliable autobiography. Elmobe Brath, `Strange Fruit': capitalism's bitter crop, New York Amsterdam News, 8 Apr 1995.
		Recording session unknown
		LP 1972 Sings Billie Holiday Stroud SLP 1005 [3:25]
		CD 1988 Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood Mercury 834 308-2 [3:30]
		CD 1993 Autour de Minuit Verve 518 165-2 [3:31]
		CD 1994 Feeling Good Mercury 522 747-2
		Recording studio session 1965 May 19-20, New York -- (LP Pastel Blues)
		LP 1966 Pastel Blues Philips (US) PHM 200-187, (E) 852-073 [0:29]
		CD 1989 Compact Jazz Mercury 838 007-2 [0:30]
		CD 1990 Pastel Blues+ Let It All Out Mercury 846 663-2 [3:29]
		CD 1993 Jazz Master 17 Verve 518 198-2 [0:29]
		Recording live session 1975, USA
		LP 0000 Portrait of Nina Festival 189 [3:25]
	Lyrics provided for academic research purposes only. Commercial use is prohibited. Comments to Mauro Boscarol