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Strange Fruit
Words & Music by Lewis AllenRecorded by Billie Holliday, 1939
Am Em7 Am A9 Am E7
Southern trees bear a strange fruit
Am Em7 Am A9 Am E7
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
Bm7-5 E7-9 Fdim E7
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze
Am Em7 Asus4 A9 Am
Strange fruit hanging from the pop - lar trees.
| Am | G/B - E7 | Am - Em7 | Am |
Am Em7 Am A9 Am E7
Pastoral scene of the gal - lant south --
Am Em7 Fdim E7
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth;
Am Em7 Bm7-5 Em7 A9 Am E7
Smell of mag - no - li - a, sweet And fresh,
E7-9 Bm7-5 Fdim E7
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.
Am Am+7 Dm Dm7 E7
Here is the fruit for the crows to pluck,
Am E7 Gdim F E7
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
Em7-5 A AM7 Gdim Fdim E7
For the sun to rot, for the tree to drop,
Am A9 Am E7 Bm7-5 Em7-5 E7 Am
Here is a strange and bit - ter crop.
This one is subject to a lot of interpretation, musically, mostly because Holiday's vocal style. She allowed her voice to slid into, and out of, the melody in a way which was unquestionably emotive and personal -- but by definition, equally imprecise from a coldly musical point of view. Often, the note she was singing was nowhere to be found in the accompaniment in the version I transcribed, so determining what chord to specify can be something of a coin flip between being true to the vocal line, or being true to the accompaniment heard behind it.
Suggested by several visitors, most recently Taylor Ashton. For a long time, I've deliberately avoided doing the chart -- it is, after all, a profoundly distubting subject. But Holiday deserves the recognition, and so does the song, so it's finally here.