{"id":655,"date":"2017-11-28T07:38:07","date_gmt":"2017-11-28T07:38:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/MHS123_Fall2017\/?p=655"},"modified":"2017-11-28T07:38:07","modified_gmt":"2017-11-28T07:38:07","slug":"andra-days-strange-fruit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/MHS123_Fall2017\/assignments\/music-video-review\/andra-days-strange-fruit\/","title":{"rendered":"Andra Day’s “Strange Fruit”"},"content":{"rendered":"

The combination of a beautiful sunset and a Mozart string quartet can bring out emotions we feel in the depths of our soul. A sappy love scene combined with a cheesy romantic melody can make us cry. When moving images are connected with meaningful music, the two have an incredibly powerful effect on the listener and leave a deep impact. What happens when video is combined with a song that is almost too painful to listen to? <\/span><\/p>\n

Andra Day recently covered and recorded Billie Holiday\u2019s<\/a> Strange Fruit<\/a>. The song was originally released in 1939 in response to a photo<\/a> of three black men unfairly lynched in Indiana. The powerful lyrics reached millions of people at the time and played an important role in the development of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1999 the song was named song of the century<\/a>\u00a0by Time magazine and has been incorporated in many popular songs. <\/span><\/p>\n

Strange Fruit has been performed <\/a><\/span>in honor and remembrance of lynched victims, but few music videos have been made. Putting a video to such an emotionally heavy song is not something many decide to take on. The lyrics are as follows:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Southern trees bear a strange fruit,
\nBlood on the leaves and blood at the root,
\nBlack body swinging in the Southern breeze,
\nStrange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.<\/p>\n

Pastoral scene of the gallant South,
\nThe bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
\nScent of magnolia sweet and fresh,
\nAnd the sudden smell of burning flesh!<\/p>\n

Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck,
\nFor the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
\nFor the sun to rot, for a tree to drop,
\nHere is a strange and bitter crop.<\/p>\n

What makes Andra Day\u2019s video special is the the video combined with sound effects and music. The opening scene of the music video gives a brief history of the lynchings in America and includes a sunset with the outdoor sounds of bugs and wind. This creates a chilling atmosphere and is enhanced by the sound of wood cracking due to the swinging of a rope. It\u2019s almost as if the listener is taken to the night of the Indiana lynchings. As the music starts, the swinging rope effect continues and the sound of gasped breathing is added. Before Andra Day even appears or starts singing the dark lyrics, the listener is able to understand that this is not a light song.<\/span><\/p>\n