What is the poem Strange Fruit about?

“Strange Fruit” is a song written and composed by Abel Meeropol and recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939. The lyrics were drawn from a poem by Meeropol published in 1937. The song protests the lynching of Black Americans with lyrics that compare the victims to the fruit of trees.

Is Strange Fruit a protest song?

Strange Fruit is also the name of one of most powerful protest songs ever written: a haunting song made famous by Billie Holiday, the Jazz diva. In the 1930s and 1940s, when political protest was rarely expressed in musical form, the song portrayed lynching in all of its brutality.

Who is the original singer of Strange Fruit?

Billie Holiday’s
One of Billie Holiday’s most iconic songs is “Strange Fruit,” a haunting protest against the inhumanity of racism. Many people know that the man who wrote the song was inspired by a photograph of a lynching. But they might not realize that he’s also tied to another watershed moment in America’s history.

What is the metaphor in the song Strange Fruit?

Through an extended metaphor xtended metaphor in which black victims’ bodies are presented as the “strange fruit” dangling from “Southern trees,” the poem brings the horrors of racism to vivid and uncomfortable life, insisting that such violence is utterly grotesque and inhumane.

What did Louis McKay do for a living?

In March 1957, Holiday married Louis McKay, a Mafia enforcer. McKay was abusive, and at the time of her death they were estranged but not divorced. As Holliday died intestate under New York law McKay inherited her estate including her royalties.

Who was the intended audience for Strange Fruit?

The audience at Café Society was mostly white; the music was mostly black; Meeropol was the Jewish “middleman” bringing the two together. But “Strange Fruit” began to turn the power dynamics of that old relationship upside down.

What is the meaning of gallant South?

The poem describes itself ironically as “pastoral scene of the gallant south.” The South had a self-defined reputation for gallantry, which is a kind of combination of charm, civility, honor, and refinement.

Who was the intended audience of Strange Fruit?

What did Abel Meeropol do for a living?

Abel Meeropol (February 10, 1903 – October 29, 1986) was an American songwriter and poet whose works were published under his pseudonym, Lewis Allan. He wrote “Strange Fruit” (1937), which was recorded by Billie Holiday.