There on the tree they see a strange fruit
Blood dripping from the leaves and from the root
A body, exposed, sways to the winds
Strange and black, hanging from the tree
Only in the South do they find such fruit —
The freezing stare, the quiver of the mouth
Magnolia perfume so very sweet
Mingles with the smell of a charred body
Here is the fruit the crows will wait for
The rains will ferment it, and the winds will drink
It will rot in the heat and fall from the tree
Here is the fruit most bitter of all