Southern trees bear a 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 magnolia sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh
Here is a fruit for the crow to pluck
For the rain to wither, for the wind to suck
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop
Here is a strange and bitter crop
this is the type of song you got to do justice. you can't do it to show off how well you can song you do it to convey a feeling. and honestly I liked it the beginning took too long but it made you feel that pain. like I said this song is about the words not vocals.
I've been trawling through different versions of Strange Fruit. I so want to sing it, but could never do it the justice it deserves.
Nothing beats the original by Billie Holiday, but this one gave me tingles.
It's difficult to revamp a classic, and even more so when you do it after Nina Simone. But yet again, a bleak depiction of the cultivation of misery is transformed into something that arrests the soul. The harmony that he uses in the background really sets his version apart from others. It seems very similar to the bluegrass requiem "O death", and complements an already tragically beautiful piece.
I'm dumbfounded at how much this version affected me. Billie Holiday's version is one of my favorite songs ever and this guy somehow made it more powerful!I felt like I was hilding my breath the entire song without knowing it and at the rnd just letting it all out at once. Truly a spectacular gift with an amazing song.