dilluns, 23 de febrer del 2009

Food for thoughts

Strange Fruits


By Billie Holiday and Abel Meeropol (1937)



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.


When we hear "strange fruits" it's easy to imagine an exotic fruit like strawberries, blueberries, pineapples, watermelon... However, in this song you would be wrong. There is a metaphor about some terrible acts that happened in America. The song condemned American racism, particularly the lynching of African Americans that had occurred chiefly in the South but also in all regions of the United States. In conclusion, it talks about all the corpses that hung on trees.




5 comentaris:

Gemma ha dit...

Ei! Gràcies per passar :)
Ens coneixem? Ara mateix no hi caic jeje (sóc un cas...)
A veure si tinc temps d'anar publicant coses al blog, perquè vaig molt enfeinada amb l'institut... Però almenys els caps de setmana espero tenir estones per escriure :P

Petons!

P.D.: m'apunto a llegir-te, eh!

senyorapòstrof ha dit...

That's a good poem. Sad, but nice. Nice last sentence too: "here is a strange and bitter crop". How painful is that human's crop is bitter and, moreover, stange for us, isn't it?

Rip Van Winkle ha dit...

Hi Sandy! I see your Latin is fresh enough and your brain is quite active. You're right indeed!!!

Nuria Vidal ha dit...

Thanks for your contribution and explanation to your poem. It is indeed a sad poem!


JUST ONE THING...
-There is a metaphor about some terrible acts that happenED in America.

Sand in my shoes ha dit...

It's a song!