Key: C
Introduction: Am G/B E7 Am Em7 Am Am G/B E7 Am Em7 Am
Am Em7 Am A9 Am E7
Southern trees bear a strange fruit
Am Em7 Am A9 Am E7
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
Bm7(b5) E7 Fº E7
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze
Am Em7 A4 A9 Am
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees
Am Em7 Am A9 Am E7
Pastoral scene of the gallant south
Am Em7 Fº E7
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth
Am Em7 Bm7(b5) Em7 A9 Am E7
Smell of magnolia, sweet and fresh
E7 Bm7(b5) Fº E7
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh
Am Am7M Dm Dm7 E7
Here is the fruit for the crows to pluck
Am E7 Gº F E7
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck
Em7(b5) A A7M Gº Fº E7
For the sun to rot, for the tree to drop
Am A9 Am E7 Bm7(b5) Em7(b5) E7 Am
Here is a strange and bitter crop
Other versions