1939年录制的《神奇的果实》是比莉一生的最高点。这首歌取材自18世纪中期的美国历史。那时各个州的庄园主依然有权任意处置黑奴，他们把黑奴吊在一棵老橡树上随意鞭打，当风吹过时，从远处看被鞭打者的造型就像风中一颗颗神奇的果实。这首作品被评为20世纪改变世界的10首歌之一，而比莉又何尝不是20世纪音乐田野里一颗神奇的果实呢？
Billie Holiday-Strange Fruit
Southern trees bear 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.