Plot Based Unit |
Theme Focused Unit |
Theme Focused Unit |
Plot Based Unit |
Annotated Bibliography + Argument Essay |
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This song, written by Abel Meeropol and performed by many artists (but most notably, Billie Holiday and Nina Simone,) is a dark and profound song about the lynching of African Americans in the Southern United States during the Jim Crow Era. In the lyrics, black victims are portrayed as “strange fruit,” as they hang from trees, rotting in the sun, blowing in the wind, and becoming food for crows upon being burned.
It was a protest song that Billie Holiday very bravely performed under grave threats and at high personal cost. This song was covered by Nina Simone, whose version was later sampled on Kanye West’s “Blood on the Leaves” featured on his 2013 release Yeezus. |
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 Songwriters: Lewis Allan / Maurice Pearl / Dwayne P Wiggins Strange Fruit lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc |
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