Strange Fruit
Southern trees bear
a strange fruit
Blood on the leaves,
blood at the root
Black bodies swinging
in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hanging
from the poplar tree.
Pastoral scene
of the gallant South
The bulging eyes,
and the twisted mouth
Scent of magnolia,
cool and fresh
And the smell
of the burning flesh.
Here is the fruit
for the crows to pluck
For the rain to gather,
for the wind to suck
For the sun to rot,
for a tree to drop
Here is a strange
and bitter crop.
So strange
So strange