The Story of Strange Fruit - Billie Holiday + Lyrics [Eva Schubert]
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- The history of "Strange Fruit" jazz song lyrics, made popular by Billie Holiday and written by Abel Meeropol. Racism, murder, execution, and fear..it's all here.
![Billie Holiday - "Strange Fruit" Live 1959 [Reelin' In The Years Archives]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/-DGY9HvChXk/mqdefault.jpg)
Dear Eva, thank you. I listened to BH and this song many times before, but did not pay attention to the words (English is not my mother tongue)...you were right to read the lyrics as a poem (as originally started) ... it brought shivers down my spine... I have long forgotten the impact poetry can have
I think a lot of people know the sound of this song, but never quite registered the words. :)
I did not know anything but the song and BH performing it.
Thank you for pulling this together.
I dont know which upsets me more-
The song itself, or the fact you crafted this almost a decade ago and so few have seen it.
We need to change that.
Curious to see if anyone reads comments on old product?
If you do, another compliment-
Sometimes, we can tell much from the quality of commentary a video gets..... it is a joy reading most of these.
One final thought.....
First time i have heard WEB Dubois name pronounced French.
Usually du-boys.
I wonder if that is a sign of reading and not hearing content?
Just recently saw Lady Sings the Blues on t.v. for the umpteenth time but really wanted to get the back story of Strange Fruit. I really appreciate this. Now I get a better understanding of the song & it's composer. Of course Billie Holiday was so brave. I just love her music!
Pamela Thompson I am so glad you found it useful.
Such a powerful story of resistance to oppression
Excellent historical explanation, thank you! Billie Holiday was incredible and so brave.
Outstanding historical review and historical inditement of America’s greatest unforgettable and unforgivable atrocities upon a Race of Human Beings. Thank you Eva Schubert…. Be Blessed 🕊️
I am metal guy who loves Billy Holiday ... need to say anything else ?? Love this video too!!
Fellow metalhead here can confirm
Also a metalhead who loves jazz :) wassup
This video was very informative and thoughtful, so thank you Eva. Diana Ross sang a beautiful rendition of "Strange Fruit" in the movie "Lady Sings the Blues." People are saying that her version of the song is too sweetly sung, compared to the excruciating anguish in which Billie Holiday sang this terrible song. People need to understand that Billie Holiday recorded this song in 1939, five years before Diana was born. Diana was not physically close to the lynching of blacks that Billie experienced directly throughout her early career. She could not possibly hold the raw anger that Billie felt about it. Nevertheless, she sang this terrible song beautifully and with great respect for Lady Day.
Excellent history lesson! Thank you so much for this! I did not know all the
connetions! That is a fascinating history of a song. I had no idea it was a poem first, written by a Jewish man....wow....What his poem became! I want to see the new film about Billie Holiday and why the Feds wanted to stop her from performing it. Now I know why! But I still want to see the film. I LOVE Billie Holiday so much!
The sad thing is America really hasn't changed much. The lynchings, discrimination...it's only justified differently.
It hasn't changed at all, unfortunately. A country in total ruin thanks to the racist DJT.
We will always be the strange fruit just a bitter crop
Perpetuating the absolute nonsense statement that we havent made progress only hurts further progress from being made. Dont put your ignorance on display like this. More can, and will be done in the struggle of minorities, but to say nothing has changed is insulting.
America & Americans were prosperous under the leadership of D.J.T.
It's crumbling under J.B.
Minorities?!? Yea I guess you just made it better.
I luv how u conveyed this story, so respectful & tasteful. Im here from the new Lee Daniels movie "The US V BH" & I wanted to know more about the history of the song, & u taught me
Thank u❤
That is the story I got from the song right away. I can't fathom what is being sung in the song but I felt the desperation in her voice. She is sending a message.
Abel Meeropol was a teacher who taught Social Studies at DeWitt Clinton H. S. in the Bronx, New York. Who knew, that my teacher would be he. He opened my eyes to learning, he was the epitome of decency. He passed on October 29, 1986, at 83, in the Bronx, NY. His songs, Strange Fruit, Apples, Peaches, and Cherries, Blood on Leaves, The House I Live In, under his pseudonym, John Lewis, who knew.
Wow! Thank you for this.
No. He was a lying commie.
Eva thanks for the background , was aware of Abel miropol as I was rivetted by hearing Billie Holiday the very first time
I am glad you enjoyed this Paul. Thanks for commenting.
Abel Meeropol actually put a pseudonym on the song (and his other songs/poems) named Lewis Allan. He used those names because they were the names of his two stillborn children. He also wrote another famous song called "The House I Live In" by Frank Sinatra.
She left that he was a Commie and was good friends with Soviet spies. He spent his life lying about America
Thank you for sharing this incredible story. My heart is now full of pain for the sufferings of the african american friends in the South. Now that I am approaching to learn the song and how to sing it, it will make a great difference knowing the story behind. "The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens"
Had me glued to the screen. Did not know the back story of Abel Meeropol.
paghal11 I am delighted to hear that. Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
I was astonished too, when I first discovered it. That's why I wanted to share it.
It think it’s important to note the role of Cafe Society Club where Billie introduced Strange Fruit.
Great video, Eva! I loved it!
Thank you. I thought I knew the whole story of Strange Fruit but you taught me more.
Excellent- this is very informative!! Love it! Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Andra Day did a wonderful job in the new movie about Billie Holiday. She used her own voice. What a performance.
Lee Daniels directed this movie and went deep into Billie's life. I wasn't aware she'd been to jail so many times because of "Strange Fruit."
I can listen to her teach all day, thank you for this information ❤
I could too! She is awesome! 💙💙
I've always loved her music..but I have never heard this song.. Truly powerful!!!
I am thrilled to know you enjoyed it Patti Lee.
Thank you for explaining the lyrics and the history of the song. Its shocking now as I imagine it was then with such a powerful portrayal of these poor men left hanging after a lynching. I'm hoping it highlighted to people all over the world what exactly was going on in certain parts of America.
Thank you......I learned so much in just a few minutes
It's important to note that the lynching that inspired Abel Meeropol to write the poem "Bitter Fruit" took place in Indiana, which is not a southern state. We in the North should admit that lynching and other forms of violence against African Americans were not confined to the South.
Having lived in Indiana for most of my life I can say that Indiana is the Alabama of the Midwest. It may not be a Southern state but it certainly acts like it and sometimes it seems like Indiana really wants to be one of *those* Southern states (after all, the KKK was founded in the Hoosier state).
Thank you Billie Holiday. 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯
Haunting session. Thank you.
A friend told me about this song five or ten years ago. Then, a couple of weeks ago when Donald Trump was looking for musicians for entertainment at his Inauguration, a singer from Britain, when asked, said she would sing at the event if she could sing Strange Fruit. Nothing more was heard about the invitation. I've been listening to it, thanks so much for UA-cam, and I am glad to hear your explanation and history of this powerful song. Thank you.
Margo Sparkle Thanks for watching, Margo. it is a powerful song, and has a long history of making complacent people uncomfortable. Glad you enjoyed the video!
You should contact our new VP and let HER know about the history of this song. Someone needs to remake this song for our time now and make it clear to never vote for a racist again.
Great History Lesson
Dear Ms. Eva. Thank you for the detailed explanation and background information previously unknown to us. There is nothing really 'controversial' about this Honorable Ms. Billie Holiday's song. She elegantly and melodically portrayed the brutal violation of the human rights of African descendants in USA and other places around the world, where their lives were exploited for mere worldly 'profits'. Sure, for those who profited/profiting it will be controversial.
The epidemic was/is not the lynching, but the multitude of minds committed to chasing, torturing, lynching and burning the bodies of these often innocent people. That epidemic of those many minds still exists today.
Thank you for the information.
Billie Holiday was our storyteller. This is the america history that is what a lot of Europe knows. I lived in Karlshrue Germany before attending public school in the US. 1964 was my introduction to the United States. I've seen police dogs tearing clothes off people. I've watched a national guardsman split a black womans face with the butt of his M-1..... I was a third grader at the time . 9 then and this was Walter Cronkite every day ĺat 5.
This now again almost describes what happens still. I hope America is not in mortal danger. Who else remembers Petite Bridge .
Edmund Pettit Bridge! The song "Glory" as performed by John Legend and Common is about that! Amazing history through music....👍👍
Wow Thanks for a great presentation ...WoW
HISTORY is not as beautiful as it looks today, it has very sad and bad memories and people who suffered they knows the real Pain.
The "someone" who introduced the song to Billie Holiday is either the composer himself, Abel Meeropol, or the owner of Café Society, Barney Josephson. I've seen it attributed to both men. The owner of Commodore Records, which recorded Holiday singing "Strange Fruit" when Columbia wouldn't, was Milt Gabler, who recorded many jazz musicians, and who happens to have been the uncle of comedian Billy Crystal.
Nice video, thank you. Ms. Schubert needs some help with pronunciations. "Rosenberg" is pronounced "Rose-en-berg," not "Roz-en-berg"; as well, W.E.B. Du Bois did not pronounce his name as the French would ("Doo Bwa"); it is pronounced in an American way, "Doo Boys." (Just as we don't pronounce the city "St. Louis" as the French would -- "San' Looie" -- we say, "Saint Loo-is.")
Never knew who wrote the song or the backstory on Billie holiday performance of it.
It's time you did your research and found out about the genesis of this groundbreaking song.
Human beings are one huge family, being black, Jewish, Christian or whatever, cannot separate us . We all suffer and we all hurt .
Eva, you are so engaging to listen too.
Thank you John. It helps to have a great story to tell. ;)
WOW!!!!
Thanks for stopping by to listen!
@gjp : Taking it out on others that have done nothing against you, (as in general, not personal) can only inflame racial tensions. Rioting, looting, vandalizing, hurting and even killing innocent people, some of whom would have been supporting you, is not justice either.
@@vanessaouyang1220 A lot of the protests have been peaceful. There's been vandalism, looting, etc. but a lot of that wasn't perpetuated by the protesters but people (a lot of them white as well) taking advantage of the situation. A lot of times I've seen the protesters stop people vandalizing! I can't claim every protestor has been peaceful but the protests I've gone to have been or the violence was started by the police.
With the protests, it's been amazing to see all ages and races of people come together and say "black lives matter!". 🙏
Thank You.. Eva Schub.. For Starring This Wonderful Poweful Story Of Billie Holiday Life 🌟 🌟.. Her Message The Racist!! And The Lynchings Of Black Americans In The South... To The Writer ✍ That Wrote This For Mrs. Billie Holiday 🌼 🌼.. My Hat Goes Off To You.
He didn't write it for Ms. Holiday. He wrote it because he was appalled by the lynchings, and was an activist in NYC. After the lyrics were published as the poem "Bitter Fruit," he set it to music. It was sung in union and civil rights activist circles for a year or two before Ms. Holiday heard it, and recorded her definitive version. Before that, an African-American singer named Laura Duncan sang it (among others), but I can't find a recording of it.
Omgoodness prayers
The three principle members of the Hollywood Rat Pack (Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra), known as a "supergroup" of established entertainers, were also Civil Rights activists. They refused to play in hotels that wouldn't let Sammy stay at, among other things. Peter Lawford, JFK's brother-in-law, was a member for a time and the Rat Pack Era pretty much ended with that terrible November day in Dallas.
You still don't want to talk about PERIOD!!!
I came to hear this powerful song by a different route. >>> Siouxsie and the Banshees strange fruit
Beautiful but overwhelmingly sad and chilling. An abhorrent part of American history.
Like this song sung by beth heart now i am astonished hear about this song sad history like it the way u explain
Thank yhuu!
some degree of violence? how precious.... overwhelmingly cruel painful human bestiality
Why when I want listen to Billie Holiday’s “Strange fruit” do I have to listen to these people that want to hijack her work in the name of black squares. That did not exist when that song was song.
Hi Eva, with Black Americans having suffered so much why is it that the American Government has not paid Reparation can you explain this to me? very informative video as well thank you
Beautifully done.
Perilous times indeed. No marvel Satan himself transforms into an angel of light. They nailed the Son of God (Yahweh) the Son of God mind you....literally hung on a cross. We have nothing coming from the enemy of our soul. Perilous times indeed.
Just one thing.
The photograph that inspired Abel Meropol was of a lynching NOT in the South, but in Marion Indiana, Mike Pence's home state!
Now that is a fascinating detail! Thanks for sharing.
Miss Schubert mispronounces several names. I detect a touch of a Canadian accent.
Home of the Free ....
I first heard about this song while watching a movie about Lady Day, stirs up a lot of embarrassment for me and for every white person who doesn't want to deny the horrible past any longer.
Yes. It's quite a story- and a piece out of a frequently horrifying part of history.
Eva Schubert ...... I'm sad to admit there are still way too many white people who have fear and hatred inside.
I find it strange that Ella Fitzgerald or Robert Johnson (both black) didn't write this song when instead, a white guy did write it
I find that odd.
FYI...WEB Du Bois is pronounced like "Du Boys" He never used the French pronunciation.
I guess that is my Canadian showing. French pronunciations are common here.
The correct pronunciation of his name is DuBoys not the French DuBois.
They only see the bad in other people and fail to recognised their own. What will they say to God???
I did not meant yoy dear
Wait, mustard gas, agent orange, were these the wars that Blacks were a part as soldiers?
Thank you Billie. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Sad sad sad
this is how you do it. intense song and brave performance of as protest, still heard today. you don't loot macy's as protest, . that's just cowardly
NO! THIS IS NOT A JEWISH STORY.
Please: not Rah-sen-bergs, Rose-en-berg.
Well Eva, Communism is here, just 7 years after your video was posted. Abel Meerepol was a Communist Activist. That is why he adopted the children. Also, for accuracy, Blacks were not the only race that was lynched, Mexicans and Whites were also lynched.
Can you not translate her poem to someone else! You are a sad case lady Eva! she sang for a Black man hanging on a tree and burned underneath! Not for two white Men! History Tells the truth!!
Why don’t you focus on the story rather than religions....