I came to town
To search for gold
And I brought with me
A memory
And I seemed to hear
The night wind cry
Go hang your dreams on the hanging tree
Your dreams of love that could never be
Hang your faded dreams on the hanging tree

I searched for gold (at the hanging tree)
And I found my gold (at the hanging tree)
And I found a girl (and I found a girl)
Who loved just me (and she loved just me)
And I wished that I could love her too
But I'd left my heart on the hanging tree
I'd left my heart with a memory
And a faded dream on the hanging tree

Now there were men
Who craved my gold
And they meant to take my gold from me
When a man is gone
He needs no gold
So they carried me to the hanging tree
To join my dreams and a memory
Yes they carried me to-o the hanging tree

To really live you must almost die
And it happened just that way with me
They took the gold and they set me free
And I walked away from the hanging tree
I walked away from the hanging tree

And my own true love
Oh yes, she walked with me
That's when I knew that the hanging tree
Was a tree of life, new life for me
A tree of hope, new hope for me
A tree of love, new love for me

The hanging tree
The hanging tree
The hanging tree