Song for Sunday: strange and bitter crop...

Today's song is not of the usual "uplifting" variety, though it is inspiring in the sense that we have much to learn and remember from our nation's past. It started with this article from NPR about the anniversary of the horrendous events that are said to have inspired this song. The article, the lyrics, the reality are haunting...

Strange Fruit
written by Lewis Allan
most famously performed by Billie Holiday

Southern trees bear 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 magnolias, sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.

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
Here is a strange and bitter crop.