Analysis Of The Song “Strange Fruit” By Billie Holiday
“Strange fruit” as sung by Billie Holiday, is a protest song about the lynching of black people and uncovers the brutality of racism and violence in South America. The song was first written as a poem by Abel Meerpol and was published in 1937. He was a white Jewish communist man who wrote the poem after seeing photographs of the horrific lynching of black men which haunted him for days.
Billie Holiday first performed the song in 1939 in Café Society even though she was fearful of retaliation. The lyrics are simple, yet they paint a vivid picture of the horrendous brutality many black people faced in that time. The extreme imagery, deep emotional lyrics, and slow melancholic tone creates a powerful message that forces the listener to face the reality of racial injustice. The song begins with "southern trees bear strange fruit. Blood on the leaves and blood at the root". The use of the words “strange fruit” is used as a metaphor comparing the fruit and the lynched bodies hanging from the tree. The contrast in the first two lines sets the stage for the message of the song by contrasting the life and ripeness of “fruit” to the gruesome deaths as illustrated by the word “blood”. The pleasing nature of the one half of the contrasting pair is outweighed by the devastating nature of the other half.
The song uses metaphors and juxtapositions to fully illustrate the violence and racism of South America in that time. The words “strange” and “bitter crop” implies that something in the picture, as vividly portrayed by the lyrics, does not belong and begins to illustrate the point that lynching was a disgrace to humanity and that it did not belong in society. The next line reveals the subject and underlying meaning of the song. “Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze”, begins to create an image of the violence towards black people. If the historical background of the song was not known and the words “black bodies” were removed from the lyrics, the song may have appeared to be a song merely against violence. However, the specific reference to black people indicates the song is about racial discrimination and the violence against black people.
The juxtaposition of the beautiful serene landscape and the “scent of magnolia, sweet and fresh”, with “bulging eyes” and “burning flesh”, gives a strong emotional feeling to the song and again contrasts life with death, positive with negative, and peaceful with grim. The author appeals to the senses by describing the beautiful scenery with attractive, gentle words followed by the use of strong loaded words, such as “burning flesh” and “bulging eyes” which illustrates the shocking and terrifying sight of the lynched bodies hanging in the trees and adds to the overall impact of the song. Music was a powerful and effective tool to protest racial discrimination.
