Though the short song poem is told as a metaphor, there is little left opaque in its lines i. Strange fruit this antilynching poem was written by abel. Gottlieb strange fruit was written by abel meeropol, a white english teacher from new york city, as a protest against the horrors of lynching. After leaving college he became a teacher in new york city. 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.
Strange fruit poetry off the shelf poetry foundation. Holiday may have popularized strange fruit and turned it into a work of art, but it was a jewish communist teacher and civil rights activist from the bronx. Strange fruit is a 1944 bestselling novel debut by american author lillian smith that deals with the thenforbidden and controversial theme of interracial romance. However, billie holidays rendition made a huge impression. Strange fruit this antilynching poem was written by abel meeropol, a teacher, songwriter, and member of the american communist party.
Strange fruit worksheet wappingers central school district. Strange fruit in the hands of many singers, strange fruit feels like a period piece, more of a memorial than a protest song. These are the opening words to one of the worlds most famous protest songs. One of billie holidays most iconic songs is strange fruit, a haunting protest against the inhumanity of racism. For the sun to rot, for a tree to drop, here is a strange and bitter crop. A strange fruit, i am simply because i am a black man some say i have no core, i do not have a seed so perhaps, just by chance i am a strange fruit indeed the juice that seeps from me is neither sweet nor sour this juice that runs from me makes me no good to eat this strange fruit hangs from a tree, motionless like a dry leaf i hang here. Surprisingly, meeropol was a russian jewish immigrant who. Holiday strange fruit sheet music fake book pdfinteractive. Strange fruit oxford academic journals oxford university press. Southern trees bear strange fruit, blood on the leaves and blood at the root, black bodies swinging in. Poem analysis the poem strange fruit by abel meeropol is very dark and twisted as it paints a mental picture of past events in southern usa. Analysis of strange fruit by abel meeropol poem analysis. Pastoral scene of the gallant south, the bulging eyes and the twisted mouth, scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh, then the.
In this activity we will be looking at strange fruit by abel meeropol and billie holiday. He was inspired by a rather ghastly picture of a lynching. Originally given the working title jordan is so chilly, smith later changed the title to strange fruit prior to its publication. He was also a poet and a social activist, says gerard pelisson, who. The man behind strange fruit is new york citys abel meeropol, and. He published the poem under the title bitter fruit in 1937 in the new york teacher, a union magazine of the teachers union. Strange fruitbillie holiday 1939 added to the national registry.
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. This product is based on abel meeropols famous song performed by billie holiday strange fruit. It was most famously performed by billy holiday, who first sang strange fruit. Strange fruit international journal of epidemiology. A tent revival serves as the backdrop for this novel of racial tension and transition in. 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. The man behind strange fruit is new york citys abel meeropol, and he. Licensed to virtual sheet music by hal leonard publishing company.
Strange fruit wri en by abel meeropol publishing as lewis allan. Interest in strange fruit has exploded in the last five years. Lynching was a practice that involved mobstyle execution without trial, most often by hanging, and most often of african americans. The words to strange fruit where the poem was titled bitter fruit reveal the tragic nature of some of the darkest times in american history. Strange fruit sung by billie holiday university of hawaii. Strange fruit is and amazing dark poem told by billie holiday as very powerful song. Strange fruit is a song poem by billie holiday which talks about the lynching mob.
Southern trees bear a strange fruitblood on the leaves and blood at the root. In the poem, the lyrical voice imagines the life of a girl charged of adultery. This is why i love tolkien bilbos poem from the end of the hobbit. The poem strange fruit by abel meeropol is filled with imagery and metaphors. Southern trees bear a strange fruit blood on the leaves and blood at the root black bodies swingin in the southern breeze strange fruit hangin from the poplar trees pastoral scene of the gallant south the bulgin eyes and the twisted mouth scent of magnolias sweet and fresh then the sudden smell of burnin flesh. Strange fruit poem by natasha maginleyfrancis poem hunter. He published it in a union publication in 1937 and then set it to music. Pdfs, linebyline analysis, and poetic device explanations for all 225 poems we cover. We have read it and heard it and this is my response to it, which includes how the imagery is explained, the message of the poem, how successfuly the point has been made and the differences between the poem and the song. When the song strange fruit is broken down and analyzed we see a poem with a small form, slow homophonic rhythm, raw texture, and meaningful lyrics, but when we put the piece together as a whole, strange fruit is shown to be one of the most popular and lasting protest pieces of. The song strange fruit had its beginnings sometime in the early 1930s when a young and liberalminded schoolteacher called abel meeropol he later changed his name to lewis allan saw a photograph of a lynching.
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. It was written by a white, jewish, communist named abel meeropol. Strange fruit is perhaps the greatest poem and song ever written in american history. A prominent theme in new slave by kanye west and strange fruit by lewis allan is that segregation is used as a form of slavery. Strange fruit by billie holiday essay 1037 words cram. Strange fruit billie holiday 1939 added to the national registry. Written by a white, jewish high school teacher from the bronx and a member of the communist party, abel meeropol wrote it as a protest poem, exposing american racism, particularly the lynching of african americans. In strange fruit by abel meeropol, the tree in the poem was used to bring death to innocent people, and thus it is a symbol of. Strange fruit is a terrifying protest against the inhumane acts of racism. The poem specifically focuses on the horrific lynchings that took place primarily across the american south, in. After asking students to assess the role music plays in their own lives, the lesson introduces some background information about lynching.
Bog queen, the grauballe man, and strange fruit are other poems of the collection that were also inspired by bog bodies. So w hy did strange fruit stand out as a significant impact on racial relations in the u. Nothing is off limits, and nobody is taken too seriously. According to figures kept by the tuskegee institute, of the 3833 lynchings between 1889 and 1940, four fifths of the ninety percent lynched in the south were of. Robert frostmarch 26, 1874 january 29, 1963 robert lee frost was an american poet.
Download this entire guide to strange fruit as a printable pdf. Over 80 years after abel wrote those 97 potent words thats right, the entire song contains less than 100 words, the pot is in full boil. Written by the teacher abel meeropol as a poem, it exposed american racism, particularly. Strange fruit for voice and other instruments fake book, intermediate voice sheet music. Group work tasks on initial thoughts lead on to analysis of the poem and a critical essay. Strange fruit was about the murders and lynching going on in the south at the time from public hangings to burnings.
Here is the fruit for the crows to pluck, 10 for the rain to gather, for the wind to suck, for the sun to rot, for the tree to drop. These words describe the bodies of black people who were lynched apart from the law, with no chance at justice. Southern trees bear a strange fruit, blood on the leaves and blood at the root, black body swinging in the. Strange fruit would sit comfortably in a list of the top 20 songs of all time, let alone a list of the top 20 political songs. High quality and interactive, transposable in any key, play along. Pastoral scene of the gallant south, the bulging eyes and the twisted mouth, scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh, then the sudden smell of burning flesh. It is about lynching in the southern united states in the early twentieth century. The tragic story behind billie holidays strange fruit. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of. Before strange fruit became billie holidays signature song, it was a poem.
Throughout the poem, the poet abel meerepol describes black people who have been murdered and hung up to the poplar trees by the racist americans in most likely south america. So he wrote a poem about it, which was then printed in a teachers. Imagery here understood as descriptive language to convey visual images is present throughout the poem. About strange fruit strange fruit is a song performed most famously by billie holiday, who first sang and recorded it in 1939. Strange fruit was written by abel meeropol, a white english teacher from new york city, as a protest against the horrors of lynching. Strange fruit, written by jewish schoolteacher abel meeropol in 1937, takes a harrowing and unflinching look at american racism. Considering the vivid images and sustained metaphor of the song strange fruit, it shouldnt be surprising that it began as a poem. The poem specifically focuses on the horrific lynchings that took place primarily across the american south, in which black individuals were brutally tortured and murderedand often strung up from trees to be gawked atby white supremacists. First recorded in 1939, the protest song strange fruit came to articulate the racism and brutality of lynching endured by so many in the united states, particularly in the south. Tpcastt title paraphrase connotation attitude shift in attitude title theme strange fruit abel meeropol was born into a jewish family on 10th february, 1903.
The poem refers to lynching, which is the act of hanging african americans, slaves and other protestors in public venues for a spectacle. Although both poems were written years apart, each song brings up very similar content that is evident in society then and now. Here is fruit for the crows to pluck, for the rain to gather, for the wind to suck, for the sun to rot, for the trees to drop. The lyrics to strange fruit were written as a poem by abe meeropol, a jewish schoolteacher from new york in 1937 after seeing published photograph of the. At the same time, songwriter abel meeropol seems to be making an allusion to family trees. Strange fruit not only chronicles the civil rights movement from the 30s on, it examines the lives of the beleaguered billie holiday and abel meeropol, the white jewish schoolteacher and communist sympathizer who wrote the song that would have an impact on generations of fans, black and white, unknown and famous, including performers lena. Strange fruit is a song performed most famously by billie holiday, who first sang and recorded it in 1939. Published in multiple billboards, it never gartered that much attention in literature form. First youve got the tree, which is usually a symbol of life, being turned into a symbol of death. Jun 28, 2015 strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees. Song writer abel meeropol and singer billie holliday worked together to produce perhaps one of the most heart wrenching songs ever written. After analyzing strange fruit, it became evident that the poem expresses racial oppression through literary devices. It was most famously performed by billy holiday, who first sang strange fruit in 1939.
Strange fruit song analysis final ballades, beats and. A new york poet, songwriter and teacher called abel meeropol originally. Abel died in 1986, but today strange fruit is everywhere. The poem strange fruit by abel meeropol is very dark and twisted as it paints a mental picture of past events in southern usa. Holiday has arguably the greatest voice in the history of popular music, and it stretches to breaking point on the line here is a strange and bitter crop. Punishment, in particular, is written to windeby i, a bog body found in germany that was believed to be a girl. Though meeropol had asked others notably earl robinson to set his poems to music, he set strange fruit to music himself. Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees pastoral scene of the gallant south the bulging eyes and the twisted mouth scent of magnolias sweet and fresh then 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 the tree to drop here is a strange and bitter. The trees in this poem, ironically, symbolize death. Sep 05, 2012 the strange story of the man behind strange fruit one of billie holidays most iconic songs is strange fruit, a haunting protest against the inhumanity of racism. 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. Includes an high quality pdf file to download instantly. Meeropol was also a writer and worried about antisemitism and.
Strange fruit, analyzing the lyrics piscataway high school. Over in europe, the spanish civil war is about to end in victory for general francos national. Strange fruit hangin 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 the fruit for the crows to pluck for the rain to gather, for the wind to suck for the sun to rot, for the tree to drop. It was a shocking photo and it haunted me for days. Strange fruit sung by billie holiday strange fruit southern trees bear.
Strange fruit, a protest song lewis allen abel meeropol wrote in 1938 about the ongoing and intransigent problem of lynching in the american south. Black bodies swinging in the 1 southern breeze billie holiday strange fruti 1939 the birth of the popular protest song it is a clear, fresh new york night in march 1939. This lesson focuses on billie holidays signature song, strange fruit, a protest song lewis allen abel meeropol wrote in 1938 about the ongoing and intransigent problem of lynching in the american south. In strange fruit, the tree was used to bring death to innocent people, and thus it is a symbol of death. His protest song gained a certain success in and around new york. The strange story of the man behind strange fruit one of billie holidays most iconic songs is strange fruit, a haunting protest against the inhumanity of racism. Marie poems a newly discover neverbeforeseen tolkien poems written before the hobbit are discovered undiscovered j r r tolkien poems found in 1936 school magazine poems and all about poetry. It has been covered by dozens of artists from kanye west to andra day. This antilynching poem was written by abel meeropol, a teacher, songwriter, and member of the american communist party. The poem specifically focuses on the horrific lynchings that took place primarily across the american south, in which.
404 459 1099 1301 649 1344 1523 124 715 235 165 121 792 537 1223 535 717 1475 917 1180 385 566 812 517 872 920 305 1101 641 685 102 464 768 347 76