If there is one artist I would love to see perform more than any other it would be Billie Holiday. Unfortunately for me, she died in 1959. Billie Holiday, real name Eleanora Fagan, led a remarkably tragic life which is reflected through the profound intimacy of her music.
She performed one of the first ever anti-racism songs, Strange Fruit, after witnessing a series of lynchings whilst on tour.
The song was written by Jewish teacher Abel Meeropol who was inspired by the photo below. The lyrics provide a chilling account of the ultimate evils of racism.
Southern trees bear strange fruit
Blood on the leaves
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
The scent of magnolia 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 crop
Listen here and admire its beauty.
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