Sure, others sang it, others certainly tried, but no one could sing it like billie holiday. Strange fruit song analysis final ballades, beats and. Considering the vivid images and sustained metaphor of the song strange fruit, it shouldnt. Strange fruit sung by billie holiday university of hawaii. Her father, clarence holiday, a professional guitarist, abandoned mother and child, and didnt acknowledge billie as his daughter until she became successful. The poem refers to lynching, which is the act of hanging african americans, slaves and other protestors in public venues for a spectacle. At jazz at the philharmonic 1954 southern trees bear a strange fruit, blood on the leaves and blood at the root, black bodies swinging in the southern breeze. Billie holiday strange fruit sheet music in f minor. Among the most influential jazz and blues musicians of the 20th century, the american singer, songwriter, and actress billie holiday was renowned for her distinctive voice and improvisatory skill. Jazz song strange fruitbillie holiday with chords, tabs. And while she has a checkered past let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
Billie holiday recorded her iconic version of strange fruit on 20 april 1939. It was most famously performed by billy holiday, who first sang strange fruit. Billie holiday lyrics strange fruit southern trees bear a strange fruit. High quality and interactive, transposable in any key, play along. Billie holiday and the power of a protest song by gary golio and charlotte rileywebb june 30, 2017 february, 2019 jama the first time i heard billie holidays rendition of strange fruit i was confused. Considering the vivid images and sustained metaphor of the song strange fruit, it shouldnt be surprising that it began as a poem. Holiday, who throughout her career called public attention to the devastating impact of white supremacy, drew the notice of the commissioner for the federal bureau of narcotics. Strange fruit, is a song about lynching in america. A good digitization of one of the most important jazz works and its performance from the 20th century. They are described in metaphorical scenes of murder.
The tragic story behind billie holidays strange fruit. In this activity we will be looking at strange fruit by abel meeropol and billie holiday. Golios powerful narrative turns on two moments plucked from billie holidays career. After asking students to assess the role music plays in their own lives, the lesson introduces some background information about lynching. About strange fruit this song, written by abel meeropol and performed by many artists but most notably, billie. Includes an high quality pdf file to download instantly. It was most famously performed by billy holiday, who first sang strange fruit in 1939. Strange fruitbillie holiday chords, tabs, lyrics and lessons tips jazz standards song with lyrics, chords, and tabs from bands and vocal artists, with downloadable pdf version for printing. Everyone who listens to jazz or cares about billie holiday or the story of the arts as a part of the civil rights movement should have this cd in their collection. It 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.
This site is maintained by the estate of billie holiday. It had a particular impact on the politically aware, among artists, intelectuals and students. Strange fruit, analyzing the lyrics piscataway high school. Strange fruit is a song performed most famously by billie holiday, who first sang and recorded it in 1939. 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. Strange fruit for voice, piano or guitar, intermediate sheet music. 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. Billie holiday s haunting song, though, broke through. Billie holiday was born eleanora harris in baltimore on april 7, 1915. A magic song from a magic voice lyrics strange fruit southern trees bear strange fruit blood on the leaves and blood at the root black bodies swinging in the southern breeze strange fruit hanging. Strange fruit poem southern trees bear a strange fruit, blood on the leaves and blood at the root, black body swinging in the southern breeze, strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees. I think what hammond meant when he said he urged columbia to have it recorded elsewhere, was that he interceded with columbia to allow billie to record strange fruit elsewhere. Lynching is when a group of people kills a person for an alleged offense without a legal trial.
Billie holiday, cafe society, and an early cry for civil rights by david margolick paperback, 2002 at the best online prices at ebay. As the song progresses, a much deeper interpretation of racial prejudice emerges. Lynching was a practice that involved mobstyle execution without trial, most often by hanging, and almost exclusively of african americans. Strange fruit is a song performed most famously 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. The poem strange fruit by abel meeropol is very dark and twisted as it paints a mental picture of past events in southern usa. The song sets the beginning as well as the painful ending. She had a thriving career for many years before she lost her battle with addiction. Sheet music arranged for pianovocalguitar in f minor transposable. The poem became most famous as a song performed by billie holiday in 1939 and played a significant role in the civil rights movement. Please submit questions or licensing requests for the commercial use of her image and likeness via the email links below. If one is familiar with the song, strange fruit, by billie holiday.
Holiday strange fruit sheet music for voice, piano or guitar. Strange fruit for voice and other instruments fake book, intermediate voice sheet music. Strange fruit remastered by billie holiday billie holiday. American abel meeropol, and sung by billie holiday, evokes the trauma of lynching in an effort to protest the same. Download strange fruit remastered by billie holiday emusic. Soon after it was released, the song became famous.
Billie holiday s dignified and heartbreaking rendition of strange fruit, released on the commodore label in 1939, was, according to the music critic leonard feather, the first. Group work tasks on initial thoughts lead on to analysis of the poem and a critical essay. Commodore demon rare origin ep box greek shaopan billie. Pdf billie holiday strange fruit not corrected louki jambe. Complete your billie holiday and her orchestra collection. Apr 20, 2017 smart news keeping you current billie holidays label wouldnt touch strange fruit the emotive song about lynching in the american south is both a classic and a warning. It was written more than 60 years ago and recorded in 1939 by billie holiday.
Sep 05, 2012 the strange story of the man behind strange fruit one of billie holidays most iconic songs is strange fruit, a haunting protest against the inhumanity of racism. This was my first time singing by myself and if you cant tell. Holiday strange fruit sheet music fake book pdfinteractive. Walter crunkite notes on strange fruit in kanye and jayz. The tragic story behind billie holiday s strange fruit to great controversy, lady day introduced the world to the racially charged protest song strange fruit. Written by teacher abel meeropol as a poem and published in 1937, it protested american racism, particularly the lynching of african americans. But from that point on, strange fruit and billie holiday became intertwined in jazz history. But holiday, born 100 years ago tuesday, fits in the present. Strange fruit this antilynching poem was written by abel meeropol, a teacher, songwriter, and member of the american communist party. Get billie holiday strange fruit sheet music notes, chords. Analysis of strange fruit billie holiday by noemi plastino. Billie holiday was one of the most influential jazz singers of all time. Strange fruit and billie holiday linkedin slideshare. Analysis of strange fruit billie holiday translation lyrics themes the song talks about lynching in the united states in the years of racism.
This lesson focuses on billie holiday s signature song, strange fruit, a protest song lewis allen abel meeropol wrote in 1938 about the ongoing and intransigent problem of lynching in the american south. Verse 1 cm ab7 g7b9 southern trees bear a strange fruit cm ab7 g7b9 blood on the leaves and blood at the root fm dm7b5 g7b9 black bodies swinging in the southern breeze cm ab7 g7b9 strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees verse 2 cm ab7 g7b9 pastoral scene of the gallant south cm ab7 g7b9 the bulging eyes and the twisted mouth fm dm7b5. Feb 16, 2011 billie holiday s 1939 song about racist lynchings redefined popular music. A new york poet, songwriter and teacher called abel meeropol originally. Strange fruit sung by billie holiday strange fruit southern trees bear. In an extract from his history of protest songs, dorian lynskey explores the power of strange fruit. It has been covered by many artists since, including nina simone. Strange fruit is a song recorded by billie holiday in 1939, written by abel meeropol and published in 1937. Jan 30, 2011 i needed to find a social justice issue in song or art form, so i decided to choose this song because to me it has to be one of the most powerful songs. Lynching was a practice that involved mobstyle execution without trial, most often by hanging, and most often of african americans. Holiday s version of the song was inducted into the grammy hall of fame in 1978. Though it was recorded in 1939, sixteen years before rosa parks, it was also recorded seventeen years after the first antilynching bill was filibustered by southern senators.
Billie holiday strange fruit sheet music in b minor. Billie holiday strange fruit sheet music pdf notes. Billie holiday strange fruit sheet music notes, chords. Southern trees bear a strange fruit, blood on the leaves and blood at the root. Billie holiday timeline the official website of billie. Nine stories are collected in his graphic anthology strange fruit, volume 1. Gottlieb collection entered into the public domain on february 16, 2010. Gottlieb strange fruit was written by abel meeropol, a white english teacher from new york city, as a protest against the horrors of lynching. Sheet music arranged for pianovocalguitar, and singer pro in b minor transposable. The strange fruit are black men that were unjustly hanged. Download and print billie holiday sheet music, including travlin light, a sailboat in the moonlight, always, and d. In accordance with the generous wishes of william gottlieb, the photographs in the william p.
Eighty years on, aida amoako explores how a poem about lynching became a timeless call to action. Billie holiday, cafe society, and an early cry for civil rights, notes that the song was not written specifically for holiday, though she took it and made it her own, even if it was not particularly a jazz song. Billie releases her next full length album, billie holiday, for clef records. When billie sings it, you feel as if youre at the foot of the tree.
Mar 11, 2014 billie holidays strange fruit was crucial in the beginnings of the civil rights movement, and demonstrated that an emotional, standard jazz song could be more influencial and personal than any protest or chant could be. Uncelebrated narratives from black history named after the abel meeropol poem and billie holiday song strange. In billie holiday s song strange fruit, the theme demonstrates the horror of lynching in postcivil war america in the deep south. Strange fruit poem and billie holiday by tessa and melissa 2. Such lynchings had reached a peak in the southern united states at the turn of the century, and the great majority of victims were black.
The strange story of the man behind strange fruit one of billie holiday s most iconic songs is strange fruit, a haunting protest against the inhumanity of racism. Strange fruit download free sheet music and scores scorser. Written by a white, jewish high school teacher from the bronx and a member of the communist party, abel meeropol wrote it as a protest poem, exposing american racism, particularly the lynching of african americans. This concept is fully expressed by a metaphor of lynched bodies being compared to fruit hanging from trees. Billie holiday, strange fruit 1939 strange fruit was written by abel meeropol, a white english teacher from new york city, as a protest against the horrors of lynching. I first heard the song, strange fruit in the hbo movie, the affair, starring kerry fox and courtney b vance. It protested american racism, particularly the lynching of black americans. Strange fruit shares uncelebrated, quintessentially. The song goes along perfectly with the movie, because fox and vance both share a common interest. The first photo is of billie holiday, the second picture is a copy of the 1939 78 rpm vinyl record, the third is of a lynch mob forming to lynch someone. After the conviction and execution of ethel and julius rosenberg for. Surprisingly, meeropol was a russian jewish immigrant who.
Billie holiday strange fruit free download as pdf file. Strange fruit by billie holiday essay 1037 words cram. Jayz, too, embeds his lyrical appropriation of the song this time the original billie holiday into a scene of lavish wealth and. Her full length album, music for torching, is released for clef records. Strange fruit billie holiday 1939 added to the national registry. In the dark poem strange fruit, author joy harjo, explores the difficulties that minorities in the world. Licensed to virtual sheet music by hal leonard publishing company. Billie holiday, the legendary jazz singer, challenges the injustice of lynching with her iconic rendition of the song strange fruit, the first great civil rights movement protest song, but she paid a high price. Pastoral scene of the gallant south, the bulging eyes and the twisted mouth, scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh. Download and print strange fruit sheet music for voice and other instruments fake book by billie holiday.
A singer beyond our understanding most artists belong to their times. Print and download strange fruit sheet music by billie holiday. Strange fruit, by billie holiday, is about the lynchings of black people by white america in the 1930s. He published it in a union publication in 1937 and then set it to music.
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