Song 10

Strange Fruit (1939) Single Version-Billie Holliday---1939

What a sick song. But it keeps the truth of America's past in our memory. Everyone knows about slavery and the brutality black people suffered because of their "owners". But even after slavery ended, black Americans' suffering didn't stop.
Abel Meeropol describes the 'strange fruit' dangling from the trees. It makes me want to vomit. The fruit is a disgusting metaphor for black people who were lynched during the post slavery years and for generations after. Like fruit, these people would swing and hang from the branches of the trees. Like fruit, their flesh would be there for hungry birds to pluck. Like fruit, their bodies would rot in the sun. it's so sad and gross.