Nina Simone regravou, mas a versão para mim definitiva dessa canção é a original de Billie Holliday. E quem quiser entender exatamente o que a canção significa, dê uma olhada na fantasmagórica coleção exibida em Without Sanctuary. Lá estão as fotos que eu não tenho coragem de por aqui, as várias fotografias que foram transformadas em postais por fotógrafos na pior época dos linchamentos americanos.
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.
Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, 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 trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.
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.
Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, 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 trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.
Comments
Não é a fome, é a razão. Que razão ?