2013-09-19

Tor Aisteach/Strange Fruit (Billie Holiday)

Tor Aisteach

Ait an tor ar na crainn ó dheas,
Fuil ar dhuilleoga, an fhuil faoin teas,
Corpáin ghorma ag luascadh sa ghaoth
Aisteach an tor, ó nach aisteach é.

An saol ó dheas, ó nach é 'tá méith
Súile ag at agus caime an bhéil,
Cumhracht mhagnóilia, úr isló
Is boladh tobann duine á dhó

Tor é seo don phréachán dubh
Cnuasaíodh an bháisteach é is an ghaoth inniu,
Á lobhadh faoin ngrian, síos leis sa mhoirt
Tor an-aisteach, tor an-ghoirt.

Strange Fruit  (Billie Holiday)

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 magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.

Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.