[Verse 1]
Southern trees bear 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
[Verse 2]
Pastoral scene of the gallant South
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth
Scent of magnolia, sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh
[Verse 3]
Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck
For the rain to gather, for the wind to su*k
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop
Here is a strange and bitter crop