How can you possibly dislike this song, this is about african americans such as me getting hanged and burned by whites,it is a very haunting ,sad , and NON-humorous song , three people obviosly are not getting the picture that this song was made a the hardest point of life in america,as people go around promoting racism,other people are trying to escape it and hopefully America or any other country never experiences this ever again
This is a wonderful song. I've always been attracted to dark and heavy music. While Itend to lean more towrds heavy metal music, a song like this appeals for the same reason. Such sad subject matter though. it is hauting, beautiful and chilling all at once. A shame more people my age and younger are not familiar with such a talented artist.
at everyone giving it "deh" and "deez" and "tings" and "neva" fucks sakes at least learn to spell , it aint spelt like it sounds i love billie but you lot are fucking her over by doing the gangsta rap shit sort it out or leave a genuine songtress memory alone .. she would turn in her grave
dude, this took lots of guts to sing, because this put her life in risk, cause of the angry southerners....+200respect pts....then -100respect points for doing heroin and od'ing. overall, +100rspts. though..
How can someone (2 someones) not like this, Yes, you may not like the dark memories of our society, but it is only recent that our country has started behaving as it should, and even then, we are still a very biased people. How can you look at this and say,"i'm gonna dislike this be cause it's old and dumb"? For those who do not see this as a reminder of our past horrors, and a warning for the future, than you are dim close-minded fools.
@MadeleinaG Racism is very much with us-there are plenty of whites who wish we could go back to killing blacks. It's way better than it was back then, but it's a big country, and world-there are racists in every corner of it, sadly.
Pardon me for my ignorance, what exactly is story behind this song and why was it written?. . . I've listened to these great ladies of songs over the years and enjoyed them all. I'm surprised then to note this song "Strange Fruit" somehow evokes a lot of emotions in many people. Perhaps a brief resume will do for the time being while I search elsewhere. Thanks !!
@macvatu It is a song about how blacks were lynched in the south (of US). Holiday sings about "strange fruit," or the hanging bodies left to rot on the trees. And it's sung in a hauntingly beautiful voice..
I thank everyone for their very kind comments. I have tried to raise culturally aware and sensitive children. I am bi-racial and so are my children. I have made every attempt to sensitize them to the trails and tribulations that are often the fruit of many a black woman's labor. I have been the victim in of racism in my own family. Being the light skinned child of a very dark skinned mother. My mother was partial to her dark skinned children because she felt as if I was favored over them.
one of the mmost inspiratinal black woman..... had to study her and i was shocked by here life story ... im white boy from england and touched by her .... shittt
hey, to boriq, you sound like a great mom, and your kid sounds like one of these kids that is on top of things, but thinks. Now, of course the subject matter is provocative, but so it should be We all owe it to ourselves to own up to what was done in the past, so that it will not be repeated in the future. If this truth is a strange and bitter crop, we must accept this and strive to do better.
God bless this child called Billie Holiday, who was raped as a child, became a herion addict and through this song, raised the conscience of many.She bared her soul with her music,and with "strange friut" put her own life in jeporady. Her music touched many in a positive manner that obviously ensues today.Who besides Elvis had such an effect on both black and white people here in the states and abroad.
I'm not saying that I don't care about what happened here in America. I am just saying that human beings have been living with deplorable things happening to them, all over the world & at different time periods. Remember during Jesus' birth when King Herod ordered the slaughter of all the 1st born males in Israel? That never happened to you all. It was never a question of "who had it worse" or a racial "thing". I was merely saying all races have had some sort of tragedy befall them not just you.
@42069girl There is no historical evidence that there was a massacre of the first born males at "Jesus' Birth". Put it in quotations cause there's no historical evidence of Jesus' birth either.
@alexas9465: We as people and as a whole have a very dark & checkered past & we don't want to repeat it. That is why we have history. That is why we should discuss what happened and never repeat it. That is my point: These things all happened in the past but we have all learned from it & hopefully have moved on & we now know better.
@alexas9465: And you shouldn't really downplay Prima Noctae, it was horrendous. If you're trying to say that one group of people -who were raped and enslaved suffered more than another group of people -who suffered the same thing (but in another time period) you're just focusing on "who suffered more" & missed the point.
@alexas9465 : Different strokes for different folks, I suppose. What about the Nazi Holocaust where 6 million Jews were put to death, imprisoned/enslaved (that happened 50 yrs ago) what about the Native Americans & what the US did to them (150-200 years ago)? All I'm saying is all kinds of people have all suffered slavery and in various forms, not just the blacks. What about white slavery that's happening right now where young women (OF ALL RACES) are being taken and sold underground for sex?
@42069girl well deh people who are affect by deez tings happening to dem, people dey know,or thier ancestors can sing about it too! we talk about is cuz it happened to OWAH people! jews know about deh Holocast, so dey gon talk bout dah 2! buh i bet u ain tell a jew u tired of hearin bout dem! ingnorant ass! an like i told u b4 if u dont understand what i typed, find someone from the west indies to translate! further more, from the Virgin Islands. more than likely he/she will be BLACK!
n listen to ur fellow klans men rudy cause we stronger than ever and gettn stronger bitch as we evil fucks what we ever do to yall except threatn yall exsistence mad cause once u go black you dont go bac¿ come on yall provn racism goes on today
40269 whateva the fuck 400+yrs is a long time bitch n if u aint notice we still havnt recovered so i u think u gone disrespect what my ancestors went though is just down right fuckn bull n everybody that agree to u can eat my big black dick POWER TO THE PEOPLE
This isn't our America anymore...I'm sad to say that we have sucked/fucked our way into a rehashing greedy society of no man-made craftsmanship allowed. Ever noticed how cheap & shoddy items that are mass-produced/sold to us really are? It's b/c the people designing them made them so they will break then the consumers will then pay for another set of people to rebuild/fix it for them. They get over on us every day by making even more money off us when we buy a things -knowing it will break.
I am so tired of the blacks saying they were the only race that's ever been enslaved. Have you heard of the Jews being the slaves to the Egyptians, the Irish being slaves to the English (and going thru Prima Nocte which means 1st night, wherein the English men would have sex with the just married brides of the Irish men to "breed them out"?) and the Chinese going through slavery with the Japanese? And they did brutal experiments on the Chinese w/out anesthetic! They had it much worse.
@42069girl Really? ur tired huh? no one gives a rats ass if ur tired probably.. No one here ever said that american slavery was the only slavery..of course there were other forms...now for u to say that others had it worse...how would u know unless u lived it...ALL SLAVERY IS WRONG period...but you wanna know why u hear about american slavery so much BECUASE IT HAPPENED HERE!! not even 150 years ago...i can still remember stories from my great grandmother about her mothers life on a mississippi
@42069girl on a mississippi plantation. we know about the hebrew being enslaved..or so we hear 41584564984 years ago and the same for the others. we are not saying we were the only slaves ever...Like the fact the some black are still even upset about the fact their ancestors were slaves should not even bother you? like why in the fuck do u care? and what happened to the irish wives i bet was terrible..but dont forget to mention the infamous american slave auctions..splitting of families..
@42069girl brutal treatment, whippings, lynchings.rapes.the breeding.imagin carrying ur child for 9 mos giving birth to it n ur master comin in and snatching it talking about how hes going to profit off of ur baby..but ur tired of hearing about it huh? I just dont seem to understand about how ur gonna tell someone whos ancestor might have gone thru conditions like those 180 years ago or even 80 in the south..that some chinese or irish slaved 800 years ago had it so much worse.? get it together !
@42069girl YOU UNEDUCATED BITCH. We of all people have NEVER said that we were the only ones enslaved. If anything, we understand the struggle of BEING enslaved. So shut the fuck up cunt. You're a racist white punk ass bitch.
@42069girl u stupid uneducated bitch! how the fuck can u make a comment like dah?! ain nobody eva say dah we wuz deh only ones to ever b enslaved...u juss bored and need someting to fuckin do das y u postin such stupid comments. u need to read a book and geh a fuckin life! and how deh hell u know dey had worse? WERE U THERE?? and in case u dont understand what i am typing u can get a BLACK translator from deh islandS. thank u very much. now, GO AND READ! :-)
@42069girl No one has said that only blacks have been prosecuted, you idiot. Every instance of racism should be eliminated, no matter how much "worse" one is than the other.
My daughter wrote a paper on Billie Holiday for school. With no urging for me she chose miss Holiday. It was an incredibly powerful paper. She included the lyrics from strange fruit and I was called to the school(PREDOMINANTLY wHITE) becuase . they did not believe a sixth grader wrote the paper and @nd they found it too provocative a subject . But they had kids writing about gangster rappers and praising them. My baby told the whole story heroin addiction and all. This is our America
@maiamorgan: the young lady that wrote that paper is now a very accomplished sophmore in an honor's program in South Carolina. A major in social work at a HBCU no less. I am going to ask her for the paper. I know that she has it, she keeps everything. I
@kiakiaw the young lady that wrote that paper is now a very accomplished sophmore in an honor's program in South Carolina. A major in social work at a HBCU no less. I am going to ask her for the paper. I know that she has it, she keeps everything. I
@boriquamommiekc Well now you know that the real purpose of education in America isn't to teach about greatest but to promote the popular and the mediocre. This song is not only a great song, it is a history lesson of a dark era and stain where mobs of people would break the law and lynch other people and escape punishment from the law. It is one of the most melancholy songs ever recorded as is Miss Otis Regrets.
@boriquamommiekc Good on you-one of the hardest jobs of a good parent is to stand up against as much of the injustice and stupidity the kids have to face, as you can, until they can follow suit-you've obviously set a great example.
@boriquamommiekc I should add-good on her too-sounds like a courageous and big hearted girl. I clicked here from "Sweet Home Alabama", as an antidote to the ignorance-even though I love Skynyrd's music. The ignorance and callousness of displaying that bloody flag, and saying nothing about the fact that it stood for racial terrorism was too much. I wonder about what's in those boys' hearts-hope they were just stupid and not evil. Definitely one or the other.
Many white people gave thier lives to end slavery because they knew what was right. This is a very brave song , considering the times, I'm glad it was able to be be published and shared with us today.Cudos to Billie Holliday.
"Southern trees bear a strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black body 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, And 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 a tree to drop, Here is a strange and bitter crop."
I think the song more illustrates the darker side of humanity as a whole rather then just an exclusive incident or group. History has shown that all people are capable of terrible evils that can seem surreal when looking back. Humanity needs to stop looking at itself as some strange animal and bond in a more cohesive family.
Hey, ZombieFizzle you fucki'n nazi. Don't worry, since you love slavery so much your gonna get your change to become one when the NWO is finally in place....
The whole point of the song is to give a voice to that which is unthinkable. Slave history was squashed due to the shame and guilt felt by white people at what they'd done. One lives and one learns. It is from thought-provoking statements such as this we are meant to extract our lesson - never undermine the past by refusing to acknowledge it, and whether black, white, and every colour in between, we all bleed red. By the way, doesn't she look just fabulous in this image :)
No Billie was NOT half white, both parents were black, her maternal great grandfather was Irish....do your research. Everybody light complected isn't half white.
As Lady Day says on her autobiography : " None ... nobody can sing these 2 words: "hungry" or "love" , because , without doubt , they don´t know what really mens this words" ( Billie Holiday )
Love this song her version and Nina simone's... mad it is not on my CD love Billie!
Maya Angelou's son Guy got cussed out by Miss Holiday for not understanding the meaning she didn't mean harm just screamed it meant " a peckerwood will string your black ass they hang niggers from trees in the south"
@AUTAGEREAUTMORI, iam a white southerner and my grandad didnt want integration, but he always told me how during the DEPRESSION, bblacks and whites in the deep south helped each other to keep from starving ,rural farmers sharing what they had, because the republican government did NOTHING until ROOSEVELT became president
I heard this song in my jazz history class in school. It's very metaphoric and sort of creepy sounding, but it's the truth, which is sad. Good song though.
pistolpete426p, I was alive in 1950, and very much aware of current events of the time. Unless you consider 1920 as "mid 20th century" I fear that your history lecturer lied to you. The lyrics were written by Langsston Hughes, I think, but nothing even slightly resembling a black lynching happened in the U.S. any time within 25 years of "mid 20th century" U.S.A.
@danteakaripper It doesn't help to call people names it makes the situation worse. We should recognize what happened in the past and where our nation is today. I am proud to be black. But I don't talk about how cruel whites were. I talk about how much better MOST are now!
My dear friend showed this song to me and I'm not one to decode metaphors but she then explained the song and this stuff is truly brilliant. It's amazing how much music has changed, my friend also says "you couldn't fake it back then". I agree.
My dear friend showed this song to me and I'm not one to decode metaphors but she then explained the song and this stuff is truly brilliant. It's amazing how much music has changed, my friend also says "you couldn't fake it back then". I agree.
This song painted a better picture of what life was really like back then better than any History book I've read. Just goes to show that music is sometimes more powerful than a credited scholar.
@Roastthis23 Strange fruit doesn't mention that my grandfather owned a ice cream shop "back then".Strange fruit doesn't mention that over 80% of black household were headed by men "back then".Strange fruit doesn't mention all the relatively thriving black businesses that existed "back then".Black men were more than a relatively few anonymous black bodies swinging from the trees.So if you're getting your "history" from STRANGE FRUIT you getting a distorted picture of what it was like "back then".
Omg, I'm so egocentric, I apologize. I was speaking of American culture. Forgive me. I'm not sure about the balance of race in media of other countries. I apologize again.
@Pvorr65, don't be ashamed to be white. I'm white too. Don't blame yourself for something that you can't help. Don't blame yourself for other people's actions. There's no point. I do think that everyone should continue to combat racism (it is still at large..c'mon our culture is still completely white-washed, and I say that as a white person, also a lot of people still have prejudice thoughts, but are not flat-out KKK). So, don't feel shame, just fight!
@k8ieism my white brother be strong,and be proud to white as I am proud to be black. we must stand and fight racist where ever they raise their the heads.
@Pvoorr65 don't be ashamed my friend- although i'm a black man - i recognize that it was the same DUTCH amish community who risked their lives to hide runaway slaves- and Dutch have a reputation of accepting black talent even when America didn't - be proud and play the blues with pride
@broadleygreen - no need to apologize- Thx for the correction. The were ,still many Dutch involved in the abolitionist movement , and recognize them for their courage.
It was white Christian people - I mean real Christians not the bigoted sort who call themselves Christians - who got slavery abolished throughout the British Empire and the same sort of people had great solidarity with black people in America.
@Pvoorr65 Do not be ashame to be white. just have a good heart,and be yourself. treat others as you would wanted to be treated. I live in Georgia USA.. the state that had more lynching to occure more than any other state.
When I listen to this I cry everytime.Just to think of the terrible killings that couldn't be stopped.Until this song. Just to think of what people went through.Bless to be here.
Deeply metaphoric. We listened to this in History lecture this morning and it really opened my mind as to how surreal and brutal life in the south was in the early to mid 20th century. Thank you for posting.
@pistolpete426p I don't trust universities at all these days. I was alive and very much aware of my surroundings in 1950, and I assure you that unless you consider 1920 to be "mid 20th century" your instructor was indoctrinating you and your classmates rather than teaching what was really happening.
@buttonpuncher The song is about the early 1900s. The lecture carried out into the middle century. The two should not be compared side by side, so I clarify. There were still lynchings going on during the 1920's-50's. Sometimes even on a daily basis. They were very rare in the 50's though, however. I agree there.
How can you possibly dislike this song, this is about african americans such as me getting hanged and burned by whites,it is a very haunting ,sad , and NON-humorous song , three people obviosly are not getting the picture that this song was made a the hardest point of life in america,as people go around promoting racism,other people are trying to escape it and hopefully America or any other country never experiences this ever again
terrance800 2 days ago
This is a wonderful song. I've always been attracted to dark and heavy music. While Itend to lean more towrds heavy metal music, a song like this appeals for the same reason. Such sad subject matter though. it is hauting, beautiful and chilling all at once. A shame more people my age and younger are not familiar with such a talented artist.
TheHeavyMetald00d 4 days ago
It's even stranger when you know that the song was written by the man who adopted the Rosenberg children, Lewis Allen
depainter 4 days ago
This song haunted me for days after I first heard it.
knucklehead98X 3 weeks ago
this song is so haunting
Act101babee 3 weeks ago
If anyone had a powerful enough voice to do this poem justice it was billie holiday.
comegrimewithme69 3 weeks ago
this song freaks me out
russelldragonslayer 1 month ago
@russelldragonslayer It should.
moonlily1 2 weeks ago
at everyone giving it "deh" and "deez" and "tings" and "neva" fucks sakes at least learn to spell , it aint spelt like it sounds i love billie but you lot are fucking her over by doing the gangsta rap shit sort it out or leave a genuine songtress memory alone .. she would turn in her grave
truimphsrule 1 month ago
Has this song been edited?
I seem to remember the piano solo lasting a little longer @ 0:39?
sexyfatbastid 1 month ago
I could sing like this but then i took a arrow to the knee
spectorhive 1 month ago
waow haunting voice, great lyrics, beautiful woman and the list goes on and on...
Hanelore81 1 month ago
From the poem by Abel Meeropol.
candr 1 month ago
this song gives me the chills, this as a dark and shameful part in our history.
aidansayshi123456789 2 months ago 8
@aidansayshi123456789 *was
aidansayshi123456789 2 months ago
wow, this is such a sad song
MsJoy4ever 2 months ago
dude, this took lots of guts to sing, because this put her life in risk, cause of the angry southerners....+200respect pts....then -100respect points for doing heroin and od'ing. overall, +100rspts. though..
whs1pmjazz 2 months ago
How can someone (2 someones) not like this, Yes, you may not like the dark memories of our society, but it is only recent that our country has started behaving as it should, and even then, we are still a very biased people. How can you look at this and say,"i'm gonna dislike this be cause it's old and dumb"? For those who do not see this as a reminder of our past horrors, and a warning for the future, than you are dim close-minded fools.
MadeleinaG 2 months ago 2
@MadeleinaG Racism is very much with us-there are plenty of whites who wish we could go back to killing blacks. It's way better than it was back then, but it's a big country, and world-there are racists in every corner of it, sadly.
Gregorypeckory 2 months ago
my teacher told me to look at this?
bff1tv 2 months ago
Pardon me for my ignorance, what exactly is story behind this song and why was it written?. . . I've listened to these great ladies of songs over the years and enjoyed them all. I'm surprised then to note this song "Strange Fruit" somehow evokes a lot of emotions in many people. Perhaps a brief resume will do for the time being while I search elsewhere. Thanks !!
macvatu 2 months ago
@macvatu It is a song about how blacks were lynched in the south (of US). Holiday sings about "strange fruit," or the hanging bodies left to rot on the trees. And it's sung in a hauntingly beautiful voice..
Destinatious 2 months ago
@macvatu It's about all the lynchings that happened. The "strange fruit" is the bodies of men hanging from trees because they weren't white.
rex666777 2 months ago
I thank everyone for their very kind comments. I have tried to raise culturally aware and sensitive children. I am bi-racial and so are my children. I have made every attempt to sensitize them to the trails and tribulations that are often the fruit of many a black woman's labor. I have been the victim in of racism in my own family. Being the light skinned child of a very dark skinned mother. My mother was partial to her dark skinned children because she felt as if I was favored over them.
boriquamommiekc 3 months ago
one of the mmost inspiratinal black woman..... had to study her and i was shocked by here life story ... im white boy from england and touched by her .... shittt
boselectfuk 3 months ago
This song gives me the goosebumps every time I listen 2 it
mickey8421 3 months ago
hey, to boriq, you sound like a great mom, and your kid sounds like one of these kids that is on top of things, but thinks. Now, of course the subject matter is provocative, but so it should be We all owe it to ourselves to own up to what was done in the past, so that it will not be repeated in the future. If this truth is a strange and bitter crop, we must accept this and strive to do better.
fubar50cat 3 months ago 2
Stop arguing! Everyone, it happened. Im not saying that its no big deal, cause it was. Just listen to the song. That is what its for. Not for ranting
DrBieber229 3 months ago
God bless this child called Billie Holiday, who was raped as a child, became a herion addict and through this song, raised the conscience of many.She bared her soul with her music,and with "strange friut" put her own life in jeporady. Her music touched many in a positive manner that obviously ensues today.Who besides Elvis had such an effect on both black and white people here in the states and abroad.
robbyfan1st 3 months ago
TEARS!!! ANGRY TEARS!!!
Nicole48273 3 months ago
I'm sorry but I don't like.
Alesici87 3 months ago
I'm not saying that I don't care about what happened here in America. I am just saying that human beings have been living with deplorable things happening to them, all over the world & at different time periods. Remember during Jesus' birth when King Herod ordered the slaughter of all the 1st born males in Israel? That never happened to you all. It was never a question of "who had it worse" or a racial "thing". I was merely saying all races have had some sort of tragedy befall them not just you.
42069girl 3 months ago
@42069girl well we neva say it was juss us either
liqua95 1 month ago
@42069girl There is no historical evidence that there was a massacre of the first born males at "Jesus' Birth". Put it in quotations cause there's no historical evidence of Jesus' birth either.
voidwaves 2 weeks ago
@alexas9465: We as people and as a whole have a very dark & checkered past & we don't want to repeat it. That is why we have history. That is why we should discuss what happened and never repeat it. That is my point: These things all happened in the past but we have all learned from it & hopefully have moved on & we now know better.
42069girl 3 months ago
@alexas9465: And you shouldn't really downplay Prima Noctae, it was horrendous. If you're trying to say that one group of people -who were raped and enslaved suffered more than another group of people -who suffered the same thing (but in another time period) you're just focusing on "who suffered more" & missed the point.
42069girl 3 months ago
@alexas9465 : Different strokes for different folks, I suppose. What about the Nazi Holocaust where 6 million Jews were put to death, imprisoned/enslaved (that happened 50 yrs ago) what about the Native Americans & what the US did to them (150-200 years ago)? All I'm saying is all kinds of people have all suffered slavery and in various forms, not just the blacks. What about white slavery that's happening right now where young women (OF ALL RACES) are being taken and sold underground for sex?
42069girl 3 months ago
@42069girl well deh people who are affect by deez tings happening to dem, people dey know,or thier ancestors can sing about it too! we talk about is cuz it happened to OWAH people! jews know about deh Holocast, so dey gon talk bout dah 2! buh i bet u ain tell a jew u tired of hearin bout dem! ingnorant ass! an like i told u b4 if u dont understand what i typed, find someone from the west indies to translate! further more, from the Virgin Islands. more than likely he/she will be BLACK!
liqua95 1 month ago
Song use to Break Me....
simplysasha19 4 months ago
i think everyone should love everyone....
im8teennow 4 months ago
@Rudymarien: What are you talking about? Who or what is a Jewel22?
42069girl 4 months ago
n listen to ur fellow klans men rudy cause we stronger than ever and gettn stronger bitch as we evil fucks what we ever do to yall except threatn yall exsistence mad cause once u go black you dont go bac¿ come on yall provn racism goes on today
DREakaBeast 4 months ago
40269 whateva the fuck 400+yrs is a long time bitch n if u aint notice we still havnt recovered so i u think u gone disrespect what my ancestors went though is just down right fuckn bull n everybody that agree to u can eat my big black dick POWER TO THE PEOPLE
DREakaBeast 4 months ago
Comment removed
42069girl 4 months ago
This isn't our America anymore...I'm sad to say that we have sucked/fucked our way into a rehashing greedy society of no man-made craftsmanship allowed. Ever noticed how cheap & shoddy items that are mass-produced/sold to us really are? It's b/c the people designing them made them so they will break then the consumers will then pay for another set of people to rebuild/fix it for them. They get over on us every day by making even more money off us when we buy a things -knowing it will break.
42069girl 4 months ago
@42069girl do not attack the powers you feel,this grows them stronger, grow your own power with the people in sinc, we will prevail. jewel22
rudymarien 4 months ago
@42069girl what the hell does that have to do with anything? u need help. MENTAL help
liqua95 1 month ago
Comment removed
42069girl 4 months ago
I am so tired of the blacks saying they were the only race that's ever been enslaved. Have you heard of the Jews being the slaves to the Egyptians, the Irish being slaves to the English (and going thru Prima Nocte which means 1st night, wherein the English men would have sex with the just married brides of the Irish men to "breed them out"?) and the Chinese going through slavery with the Japanese? And they did brutal experiments on the Chinese w/out anesthetic! They had it much worse.
42069girl 4 months ago
@42069girl Really? ur tired huh? no one gives a rats ass if ur tired probably.. No one here ever said that american slavery was the only slavery..of course there were other forms...now for u to say that others had it worse...how would u know unless u lived it...ALL SLAVERY IS WRONG period...but you wanna know why u hear about american slavery so much BECUASE IT HAPPENED HERE!! not even 150 years ago...i can still remember stories from my great grandmother about her mothers life on a mississippi
alexas9465 3 months ago
@42069girl on a mississippi plantation. we know about the hebrew being enslaved..or so we hear 41584564984 years ago and the same for the others. we are not saying we were the only slaves ever...Like the fact the some black are still even upset about the fact their ancestors were slaves should not even bother you? like why in the fuck do u care? and what happened to the irish wives i bet was terrible..but dont forget to mention the infamous american slave auctions..splitting of families..
alexas9465 3 months ago
@42069girl brutal treatment, whippings, lynchings.rapes.the breeding.imagin carrying ur child for 9 mos giving birth to it n ur master comin in and snatching it talking about how hes going to profit off of ur baby..but ur tired of hearing about it huh? I just dont seem to understand about how ur gonna tell someone whos ancestor might have gone thru conditions like those 180 years ago or even 80 in the south..that some chinese or irish slaved 800 years ago had it so much worse.? get it together !
alexas9465 3 months ago
@42069girl YOU UNEDUCATED BITCH. We of all people have NEVER said that we were the only ones enslaved. If anything, we understand the struggle of BEING enslaved. So shut the fuck up cunt. You're a racist white punk ass bitch.
rosalierox247 1 month ago
@rosalierox247 lol u mad?
Firingsquad117 1 month ago
@Firingsquad117 lol ya how could u tell
rosalierox247 1 month ago
@42069girl u stupid uneducated bitch! how the fuck can u make a comment like dah?! ain nobody eva say dah we wuz deh only ones to ever b enslaved...u juss bored and need someting to fuckin do das y u postin such stupid comments. u need to read a book and geh a fuckin life! and how deh hell u know dey had worse? WERE U THERE?? and in case u dont understand what i am typing u can get a BLACK translator from deh islandS. thank u very much. now, GO AND READ! :-)
liqua95 1 month ago
@42069girl No one has said that only blacks have been prosecuted, you idiot. Every instance of racism should be eliminated, no matter how much "worse" one is than the other.
widdlepuddyfat 1 month ago
We listened to this in history today. It's so amazing - but so sad.
mimilottolo 4 months ago
any white man no matter what race would die back then if they were even seen helping a black man.. i could never imagine living way back when..
mattxtraweek 4 months ago
slavery is rampant in 2011 just look it up and find out for yourselves
know one has stopped slavery.
SahmStokes 5 months ago
My god this is so powerful. Her voice is haunting yet beautiful.
deppgurl150 5 months ago 2
My daughter wrote a paper on Billie Holiday for school. With no urging for me she chose miss Holiday. It was an incredibly powerful paper. She included the lyrics from strange fruit and I was called to the school(PREDOMINANTLY wHITE) becuase . they did not believe a sixth grader wrote the paper and @nd they found it too provocative a subject . But they had kids writing about gangster rappers and praising them. My baby told the whole story heroin addiction and all. This is our America
boriquamommiekc 5 months ago 154
@boriquamommiekc I'm an Education major, and I would love to read that paper.
maiamorgan 5 months ago
@maiamorgan: the young lady that wrote that paper is now a very accomplished sophmore in an honor's program in South Carolina. A major in social work at a HBCU no less. I am going to ask her for the paper. I know that she has it, she keeps everything. I
would love to share it with the world.
boriquamommiekc 3 months ago
@boriquamommiekc I'd love to read it.
Gregorypeckory 2 months ago
@boriquamommiekc - I am a teacher and would love to read it as well! Your right...that is education today!
kiakiaw 5 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@kiakiaw the young lady that wrote that paper is now a very accomplished sophmore in an honor's program in South Carolina. A major in social work at a HBCU no less. I am going to ask her for the paper. I know that she has it, she keeps everything. I
would love to share it with the world.
boriquamommiekc 3 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@boriquamommiekc - I am a teacher and would love to read it as well! Your right...that is education today!
kiakiaw 5 months ago
@boriquamommiekc Well now you know that the real purpose of education in America isn't to teach about greatest but to promote the popular and the mediocre. This song is not only a great song, it is a history lesson of a dark era and stain where mobs of people would break the law and lynch other people and escape punishment from the law. It is one of the most melancholy songs ever recorded as is Miss Otis Regrets.
Diosprometheus 3 months ago
@boriquamommiekc You should be very proud of your daughter.
Genechanger 3 months ago
@boriquamommiekc Good on you-one of the hardest jobs of a good parent is to stand up against as much of the injustice and stupidity the kids have to face, as you can, until they can follow suit-you've obviously set a great example.
Gregorypeckory 2 months ago
@boriquamommiekc I should add-good on her too-sounds like a courageous and big hearted girl. I clicked here from "Sweet Home Alabama", as an antidote to the ignorance-even though I love Skynyrd's music. The ignorance and callousness of displaying that bloody flag, and saying nothing about the fact that it stood for racial terrorism was too much. I wonder about what's in those boys' hearts-hope they were just stupid and not evil. Definitely one or the other.
Gregorypeckory 2 months ago
Many white people gave thier lives to end slavery because they knew what was right. This is a very brave song , considering the times, I'm glad it was able to be be published and shared with us today.Cudos to Billie Holliday.
1beamer11 5 months ago 3
i honestly believe that youtube just purposely decides to dislike videos because they don't have any dislikes!
pancakes4dinner1 6 months ago 2
It took guts for her to sing that song in those times.
98bigbutt 6 months ago 50
"Southern trees bear a strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black body 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, And 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 a tree to drop, Here is a strange and bitter crop."
FinnSpencer141 6 months ago
Did you know that there is no record of how many black people where lynched during the early 1900s
Watawaytogo 7 months ago
I think the song more illustrates the darker side of humanity as a whole rather then just an exclusive incident or group. History has shown that all people are capable of terrible evils that can seem surreal when looking back. Humanity needs to stop looking at itself as some strange animal and bond in a more cohesive family.
Ianistheman2 8 months ago 3
Wasn't this song originally a poem?
VioliaDanglion 8 months ago
@VioliaDanglion Yes, by Abel Meeropol.
FinnSpencer141 6 months ago
Hey, ZombieFizzle you fucki'n nazi. Don't worry, since you love slavery so much your gonna get your change to become one when the NWO is finally in place....
kbcorp 8 months ago 2
The whole point of the song is to give a voice to that which is unthinkable. Slave history was squashed due to the shame and guilt felt by white people at what they'd done. One lives and one learns. It is from thought-provoking statements such as this we are meant to extract our lesson - never undermine the past by refusing to acknowledge it, and whether black, white, and every colour in between, we all bleed red. By the way, doesn't she look just fabulous in this image :)
M91Lou 8 months ago
No Billie was NOT half white, both parents were black, her maternal great grandfather was Irish....do your research. Everybody light complected isn't half white.
PrettyVillan 9 months ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
billie was half white. war rape and slavery. AMERICA fuck yeah! here to save the motherfucking day a!
i love slavery!
ZombieFizzle 9 months ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
billie was half white. war rape and slavery. AMERICA fuck yeah! here to save the motherfucking day a!
ZombieFizzle 9 months ago
Beautiful song. We had a teacher sing this at a diversity program, she shuld make a covr of this
eongirl409 9 months ago
As Lady Day says on her autobiography : " None ... nobody can sing these 2 words: "hungry" or "love" , because , without doubt , they don´t know what really mens this words" ( Billie Holiday )
vilellamanda 9 months ago
SIMPLY AWESOME
abhishek20885 9 months ago
Love this song her version and Nina simone's... mad it is not on my CD love Billie!
Maya Angelou's son Guy got cussed out by Miss Holiday for not understanding the meaning she didn't mean harm just screamed it meant " a peckerwood will string your black ass they hang niggers from trees in the south"
keenafromphilly 9 months ago
Love this song her version and Nina simone's... mad it is not on my CD love Billie!
keenafromphilly 9 months ago
@AUTAGEREAUTMORI, iam a white southerner and my grandad didnt want integration, but he always told me how during the DEPRESSION, bblacks and whites in the deep south helped each other to keep from starving ,rural farmers sharing what they had, because the republican government did NOTHING until ROOSEVELT became president
stalkingwolf1954 9 months ago
my music teacher told me she was on her tour bus and she saw the thing she sings about
juliaanuszewska 10 months ago
This is easily the most grim song of all time. Song so beautifully and truthfully.
jjeb22 10 months ago 2
I heard this song in my jazz history class in school. It's very metaphoric and sort of creepy sounding, but it's the truth, which is sad. Good song though.
ShellyGageMusic 10 months ago
pistolpete426p, I was alive in 1950, and very much aware of current events of the time. Unless you consider 1920 as "mid 20th century" I fear that your history lecturer lied to you. The lyrics were written by Langsston Hughes, I think, but nothing even slightly resembling a black lynching happened in the U.S. any time within 25 years of "mid 20th century" U.S.A.
buttonpuncher 10 months ago
On another note I love the song and it shows the pain what our ancestors went through. And we should appreciate what they fought and died for!
cake254 11 months ago
@danteakaripper It doesn't help to call people names it makes the situation worse. We should recognize what happened in the past and where our nation is today. I am proud to be black. But I don't talk about how cruel whites were. I talk about how much better MOST are now!
cake254 11 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
sometimes when i learn about how black people were treated makes me REALLY HATE WHITE PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!! im black
TD0G101 11 months ago
My God, this song shows what the damn crackers did to our people. This reminds me of the movie Rosewood
danteakaripper 1 year ago
When we did "To Kill a Mockingbird" way back in Secondary School, our Lovely teacher played us this. There was not a dry eye in the classroom!
loquatiousbadger 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
My dear friend showed this song to me and I'm not one to decode metaphors but she then explained the song and this stuff is truly brilliant. It's amazing how much music has changed, my friend also says "you couldn't fake it back then". I agree.
HellsRequiemAMX 1 year ago
My dear friend showed this song to me and I'm not one to decode metaphors but she then explained the song and this stuff is truly brilliant. It's amazing how much music has changed, my friend also says "you couldn't fake it back then". I agree.
HellsRequiemAMX 1 year ago
Oh gosh. I love this music...
And it fits so well to the portugues history...
l23722 1 year ago
I had never heard this song before. The words burned deep, the tune haunting & sad. Very sad. This song touched my soul.
enigma9051 1 year ago 2
This song painted a better picture of what life was really like back then better than any History book I've read. Just goes to show that music is sometimes more powerful than a credited scholar.
Roastthis23 1 year ago
@Roastthis23 Strange fruit doesn't mention that my grandfather owned a ice cream shop "back then".Strange fruit doesn't mention that over 80% of black household were headed by men "back then".Strange fruit doesn't mention all the relatively thriving black businesses that existed "back then".Black men were more than a relatively few anonymous black bodies swinging from the trees.So if you're getting your "history" from STRANGE FRUIT you getting a distorted picture of what it was like "back then".
AutAgereAutMori 11 months ago
I think I make up like 5,000 of these views I listen to this over and over. XD
BernadetteIsAwesome 1 year ago
Omg, I'm so egocentric, I apologize. I was speaking of American culture. Forgive me. I'm not sure about the balance of race in media of other countries. I apologize again.
k8ieism 1 year ago
This song gives me chills.
@Pvorr65, don't be ashamed to be white. I'm white too. Don't blame yourself for something that you can't help. Don't blame yourself for other people's actions. There's no point. I do think that everyone should continue to combat racism (it is still at large..c'mon our culture is still completely white-washed, and I say that as a white person, also a lot of people still have prejudice thoughts, but are not flat-out KKK). So, don't feel shame, just fight!
k8ieism 1 year ago
@k8ieism my white brother be strong,and be proud to white as I am proud to be black. we must stand and fight racist where ever they raise their the heads.
frogeyeful 1 year ago 2
Her voice always leaves me speechless....
MysticGoddessGA10 1 year ago
i know the story, i'm white . i play the blues myself, i'm a shamed to be white !!!!
strange fruit, makes very, very sad in my hart. a white boy from den haag holland.
the dutch brought the slaves to america and many more country's !!!!! keep on playin'the blues for MS.BILLY HOLLIDAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pvoorr65 1 year ago
@Pvoorr65 don't be ashamed my friend- although i'm a black man - i recognize that it was the same DUTCH amish community who risked their lives to hide runaway slaves- and Dutch have a reputation of accepting black talent even when America didn't - be proud and play the blues with pride
diodoro73 1 year ago 35
@diodoro73 I concur!.
frogeyeful 1 year ago
Comment removed
broadleygreen 6 months ago
@diodoro73
Sorry, my friend, but the Amish are German.
broadleygreen 6 months ago
@broadleygreen - no need to apologize- Thx for the correction. The were ,still many Dutch involved in the abolitionist movement , and recognize them for their courage.
diodoro73 6 months ago
@diodoro73
Yes,
It was white Christian people - I mean real Christians not the bigoted sort who call themselves Christians - who got slavery abolished throughout the British Empire and the same sort of people had great solidarity with black people in America.
broadleygreen 6 months ago
@Pvoorr65 Do not be ashame to be white. just have a good heart,and be yourself. treat others as you would wanted to be treated. I live in Georgia USA.. the state that had more lynching to occure more than any other state.
frogeyeful 1 year ago
love billy holiday its sad the time she was in she was black and a woman no rights:(
jenningsholly 1 year ago 2
When I listen to this I cry everytime.Just to think of the terrible killings that couldn't be stopped.Until this song. Just to think of what people went through.Bless to be here.
hhbgffhfbgf 1 year ago
Deeply metaphoric. We listened to this in History lecture this morning and it really opened my mind as to how surreal and brutal life in the south was in the early to mid 20th century. Thank you for posting.
pistolpete426p 1 year ago 53
@pistolpete426p I don't trust universities at all these days. I was alive and very much aware of my surroundings in 1950, and I assure you that unless you consider 1920 to be "mid 20th century" your instructor was indoctrinating you and your classmates rather than teaching what was really happening.
buttonpuncher 10 months ago
@buttonpuncher The song is about the early 1900s. The lecture carried out into the middle century. The two should not be compared side by side, so I clarify. There were still lynchings going on during the 1920's-50's. Sometimes even on a daily basis. They were very rare in the 50's though, however. I agree there.
pistolpete426p 10 months ago
@pistolpete426p Hi Laila.
ihotphoi 6 months ago
@pistolpete426p no way me too
mattxtraweek 4 months ago
@pistolpete426p see thats the thing they want you to think that it was jus the south but it was the us as a whole
dra314 4 months ago in playlist dra314's favorites
@dra314 You're correct.
pistolpete426p 4 months ago