Know something about this song or lyrics?
Add it to our wiki.
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 leaves to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop
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 leaves to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
boscarol.com/nina/html/where/…
lyricsfreak.com/n/nina+simone/…
goldlyrics.com/song_lyrics/nina_simone/pastel_blues/strange_fruit/
Nina Simone did have her own take on it, though. Such as saying "Them big bulging eyes" i/o "The bulging eyes". But the two that interest me are "Clean and fresh" i/o "Sweet and Fresh" and "For the leaves to drop" i/o "For the trees to drop".
I don't like clean as much as sweet, as sweet has much more of a double-sided meaning. There's a good sweet of fresh flowers but then there's the sickening sweetness of rotting fruit. But I do like Nina's choice of leaves i/o trees. I got the shivers from hearing her singing "leeeaves" and holding it, as I immediately thought of the bodies being dropped to the ground.
omg! This song is indeed haunting, and beautiful all in one, Nina Simone is amazing!!!