Strange Fruit

The Southern trees bear a strange fruit

Blood on the leaves, and blood at the roots

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 magnolia, sweet and fresh

Then the sudden smell of burning 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 tree to drop

Here is a strange and bitter crop