Key: A
Introduction:
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.
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