The Man Who Made Strange Fruit | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Entertainment

The Man Who Made Strange Fruit

The story of Abel Meeropol

70
The Man Who Made Strange Fruit

Take a moment and listen to this song. If you've heard it before, listen again. If you haven't, try to listen alone and take in the emotion.

<span id="selection-marker-1" class="redactor-selection-marker"></span>

"Strange Fruit" is a harrowing blues piece about lynching. It's one of Billie Holiday's most famous songs and definitely one of her best. Her soft, raspy voice imbues the tragic lyrics with a beauty and languor, which the melancholy jazz instrumentation complements beautifully. Other versions of the song start with a wailing saxophone intro, but I prefer the sparse instruments here. Her performance is raw and the last few seconds of her discomfort are powerful.

This song was written by a Jewish-American man in 1937.

The story of Abel Meeropol is fascinating, especially since his legacy has largely been forgotten under Holiday's impressive cover. He was born in The Bronx of New York in February 14, 1903, and died on October 29, 1986. He was a teacher and writer, then became a songwriter after the success of "Strange Fruit." His two other songs are "The House I Live In," a piece notably performed by Frank Sinatra, and "Apples, Peaches, and Cherries." He wrote music under the pseudonym Lewis Allan, the names of his two stillborn children.

So why did this Jewish man write about lynching? The story goes that Abel saw a photograph of a lynching that disturbed him greatly. If you're willing to look at the picture, here it is. The corpses hanging from the tree are bloody, their clothes ripped, and their heads slack against the rope. What's more horrifying might be the large crowd casually looking on, grinning and pointing. Abel was so haunted by this image that he wrote a poem.

Originally titled "Bitter Fruit," the words were eventually put to music and renamed "Strange Fruit."

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

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

Eventually, Billie Holiday heard the song and made her iconic cover. The song was named the "song of the century" by Time magazine in 1999. Many other covers have been made and the song continues to haunt people today.

Meeropol's life only became more interesting afterward, as he was a political activist and a Communist. In 1940, he was confronted by a New York committee that wanted to know if the Communist party had encouraged him to write the song. Though he got through the ordeal unscathed, he surfaced back onto the radar around 1953 when he adopted the two sons of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. The Rosenbergs were executed for nuclear espionage, leaving their young boys orphaned. [1]

His life demonstrates a rich compassion and sympathy for the marginalized that I truly respect. I thought of the words to "Strange Fruit" last week when I looked through a book of lynchings. The images were brutal and I felt my confidence in human depravity painfully secured. Then I looked up the song's history. When I thought the song was Holiday's, I found the words deeply tragic. Now, I still see the horror, but I also see the humanity of a Jewish schoolteacher who wanted to share his horror of this national tragedy.

Abel Meeropol was a man who respectfully made something beautiful out of something terrible.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
girl holding phone
NYCPRGIRLS

Now that it seems “talking” is the new way to date, and will stay that way until another idiotic term is used to describe the people who can’t settle down and just date someone, I feel as if it’s time to go over the unwritten rules of “talking.”

Rule 1. Having feeling without feeling.

Keep Reading...Show less
The Stages of Having FOMO in College
iamthatgirl.com

Are you one of those people that gets super upset when you miss out on anything? Well, you may have FOMO, or fear of missing out. In college it’s not hard to experience FOMO every once in a while. You just love doing everything and anything, so hen you have to miss out on something it's the worst possible thing in your mind. Whether you’re sick, have to work, or have so much work to do you could cry – FOMO will hit you hard in college.

Keep Reading...Show less
Vivien Leigh
Revelist

I've lived a whole 21 years with an RBF (Resting Bitch Face), so naturally, I go through most of these struggles on a daily basis.

And before you ask, yes I'm fine. No, I'm not mad. This is just my face, so take it or leave it! To those of you who have been #blessed with an RBF, you'll probably relate to these more than you'd like to:

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

Iconic Duos: Timeless Legends

From Luke and Leia to Beyonce's twins...

774734
Luke and Leia from Star Wars, a iconic duo
Lucasfilm

“Name a more iconic duo... I'll wait." OK, well, if you insist. In no particular order, here's a list of 100 iconic duos that seem to be timeless.

SEE MORE: This Is The ICONIC Disney Sidekick You Are To Your BFF, According To Your Zodiac Sign

Keep Reading...Show less
Relationships

A Candid Letter to My Best Friends Ex

Because this is the real form of torture you deserve.

1060
middle finger
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

What's up Asshat,

I've composed a list of things that I wish upon you, and they're harsh and cruel. These things are things that I wouldn't wish upon my worst of enemies, not even that Starbuck's barista who always screws up my order, not even him. You fall into a whole other category of hate. You surpass Starbucks barista. Congratulations, I'm actually a pretty nice person, making you worthy of every single bit of torture I wish upon you. What are these things I wish upon you you might ask?

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments