Saturday, February 16, 2008

Billie Holiday - Strange Fruit




Ms. Holiday's Personal Observation & Protest


STRANGE FRUIT

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.

10 comments:

  1. This is definitely a song that still needs to be heard.

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  2. Classic. i wish these knuckleads knew this song instead of half the garbage they play on the radio today.music with a strong message!

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  3. EXACTLY!! It is hard to understand how we can have a a powerful song such as this performed by a musical genius to represent our music and then we have a song like "Low" being blasted from every club and car stereo system portrayed as "our" music. One is a direct insult to the other.

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  4. Oh...and you KNOW if Billie Holiday were alive today she probably couldn't even get a record deal. If she could, some record exec looking at "the big picture" would be telling her she couldn't record Strange Fruit because it wouldn't move units.

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  5. The sad part is, most of these clowns could listen AND read the lyrics AND still not get it.

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  6. Wow, the first time that I heard this song, I was about 12 and it gave me chills to the point that I couldn't listen to the entire song. Since then, i've become a die hard Billie fan. There's just somthing about her voice.

    I can definitely agree with blkbtrflyy when she said "you KNOW if Billie Holiday were alive today she probably couldn't even get a record deal" Most likely her voice would be viewed as old fashioned . There is something about the music of that era that gives me goosebumps. Most of the music today is just noise. I think that a very good artist that kinda reminds me of Billie Holiday is Crisette Michele and she get very little credit for her voice. They'd rather hear the noise I guess.

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  7. Billie Holiday is awesome! I can't pretend I don't listen to booty-shaking music, because I do. I enjoy all genres of music. But there's a huge difference between me and younger generations. I was exposed to good music and different styles. Young people today are so clueless. They have no idea what constitutes good music, good singers and music with a real message.

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  8. Same here. My grandfather was a country, blues and jazz lover. My granny loved gospel, jazz & some soul. My mother was the R&B & soul lover. I'd be listening to Ella Fitzgerald in one room, Mahalia Jackson in another & Marvin Gaye in the next.

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