A dark and profound song about the lynching of African Americans in the Southern United States during the Jim Crow Era. In the lyrics, black victims are portrayed as “strange fruit,” as they hang from trees, rotting in the sun, blowing in the wind, and becoming food for crows upon being burned. It was a protest song that Billie Holiday very bravely performed under grave threats and at high personal cost.  Listen to Throughline from NPR Podcast on Billie Holiday and Strange Fruit Lyrics | Genius Lyrics