Southern trees bear strange fruit
Blood on the leaves
Blood at the roots
Black bodies 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
The scent of magnolia sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burning 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