Strange Fruit
Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa Lyrics

Southern trees bear strange fruit
The south is filled with gruesome imagery represented by strange fruit hanging from trees.

Blood on the leaves
The strange fruit represents the bodies of black people who have been lynched and left hanging from trees to rot.

Blood at the root
The violence against black people is so deeply rooted in Southern culture that it stains everything around it.

Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze
The hanging bodies are left to sway in the wind, a menacing reminder to others of the consequences of stepping out of line.

Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees
The grotesque sight of the strange fruit hanging from trees is a haunting symbol of the atrocities that have occurred in the South.

Pastoral scene of the gallant south
The beauty of the Southern landscape only serves to underline the ugliness of the actions taking place within it.

The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth
The bodies of those lynched are left to rot in the open, with bulging eyes and twisted mouths that are a testament to the horror they faced.

The scent of magnolia sweet and fresh
The sweet scent of magnolia is a sharp juxtaposition to the death and decay that surrounds it, a reminder of the tragedy of lost potential.

Then the sudden smell of burning flesh
The smell of burning flesh serves as a visceral reminder of the terrible violence inflicted upon black Americans.

Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck
The fruit is a grim gift for scavengers, a sign of the disrespect with which black Americans have been treated.

For the rain to gather
The fruit left to rot is a testament to the waste of human life and potential that is the result of racial violence and discrimination.

For the wind to suck
The power of the wind takes away any shred of dignity or respect this fruit -- these human lives -- deserve.

For the sun to rot
The sun, a symbol of light and life, is here a witness to the destruction of both.

For the tree to drop
Even the tree itself, which should be a source of growth and life, is corrupted and complicit in this violence.

Here is a strange and bitter crop
The strange fruit is a metaphor for the bitter legacy of racism and what it has done to the land, the people, and the country as a whole.