Rhapsodies

A quick happy birthday to one of the greatest Jazz vocalists ever. Couldn’t decide on what was the best song to show her off with but I decided to go with one of her signature pieces, “Strange Fruit”.

It’s a powerful work, even if you miss the subject matter, and Billie’s voice is the perfect tool to show the bitterness and anger behind it.

So sit back , enjoy and join me in wishing Billie Holiday a happy birthday.

Southern trees bear 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.

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!

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 tree to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.