Video: Listen To Edward W. Hardy's Haunting String Quartet Arrangement Of “Strange Fruit”

A black string quartet consisting of violinists Edward W. Hardy (composer of The Woodsman) & Daniel Constant, cellist Thapelo Masita (The Metropolitan Museum), and violist Tia Allen (Jagged Little Pill) performed a beautifully heart-wrenching performance of Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit". "This song, which was written 83 years ago, reflects our current time." - Edward W. Hardy

Directed/ Edited by Jeremy Stanley. Location: Good Shepherd New York

The poem "Strange Fruit" by Abel Meeropol

"Southern trees bear a strange fruit. Blood on the leaves and blood at the root. Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze. Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees. Pastoral scene of the gallant South. The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth. Scent of magnolia, sweet and fresh. Then the sudden smell of burning flesh. Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck. For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck. For the sun to rot, for the tree to drop. Here is a strange and bitter crop"