The Hanging Tree – English Lyrics

• By: James Newton Howard, Jennifer Lawrence
• Album: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 Soundtrack

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the haunting beauty and hidden meanings of "The Hanging Tree," performed by Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1. This folk ballad, with its simple yet chilling lyrics, offers a unique opportunity to explore themes of rebellion, sacrifice, and the power of music as a rallying cry . Uncover the secrets behind its creation and how it became an anthem for a nation, making learning English both meaningful and memorable .

[English]

Are you, are you comin' to the tree?

Where they strung up a man, they say, who murdered three

Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be

If we met at midnight in the hanging tree

Are you, are you comin' to the tree

Where dead man called out for his love to flee?

Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be

If we met at midnight in the hanging tree

Are you, are you comin' to the tree

Where I told you to run, so we'd both be free?

Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be

If we met at midnight in the hanging tree

Are you, are you comin' to the tree

Where necklace of hope, side by side with me?

Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be

If we met at midnight in the hanging tree

Are you, are you comin' to the tree

Where I told you to run, so we'd both be free?

Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be

If we met at midnight in the hanging tree

Are you, are you comin' to the tree?

Where they strung up a man, they say, who murdered three

Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be

If we met at midnight in the hanging tree

Are you, are you comin' to the tree

Where the dead man called out for his love to flee?

Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be

If we met at midnight in the hanging tree

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
tree /triː/ A1	noun - a perennial woody plant
man /mæn/ A1	noun - an adult male human being
murdered /ˈmɜːrdərd/ B2	verb - to kill (someone) unlawfully and with premeditation
strange /streɪndʒ/ B1	adjective - unusual or surprising; difficult to understand or explain
things /θɪŋz/ A1	noun - an object that one need not, cannot, or does not wish to give a specific name to
midnight /ˈmɪdnaɪt/ B1	noun - twelve o'clock at night
hanging /ˈhæŋɪŋ/ B2	adjective - suspended from above
dead /ded/ A2	adjective - no longer alive
love /lʌv/ A1	noun - an intense feeling of affection
flee /fliː/ B2	verb - run away from a place or situation of danger
run /rʌn/ A1	verb - to move at a speed faster than a walk
free /friː/ A2	adjective - not under the control or power of someone else; able to do or say what one wants
necklace /ˈnekləs/ B1	noun - an ornamental chain or string of beads, jewels, or links worn round the neck.
hope /hoʊp/ A2	noun - a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen

Key Grammar Structures

• Are you, are you comin' to the tree?

  ➔ Present Continuous for future arrangements (colloquial)

  ➔ Uses the present continuous tense, "are you comin'", to inquire about a planned event in the near future. The more standard phrasing would be "Are you coming...?", dropping the 'g' is colloquial. It suggests the speaker expects the listener to participate.

• Where they strung up a man, they say, who murdered three

  ➔ Relative clause with "who", passive voice implied in "strung up"

  ➔ "who murdered three" is a relative clause modifying "a man". "Strung up" implies someone else strung the man up (passive voice), although the agent isn't specified.

• Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be

  ➔ Inversion with auxiliary "did" for emphasis; "would" expressing hypothetical situation

  ➔ "Strange things did happen" is an emphatic form of "Strange things happened". "Would" expresses a conditional or hypothetical situation: if we met, it wouldn't be stranger than what has already occurred.

• Where dead man called out for his love to flee?

  ➔ Infinitive of purpose ("to flee") after a verb of motion ("called out")

  ➔ The phrase "to flee" explains the purpose of the dead man's calling out. He called out *in order to* his love flee.

• Where I told you to run, so we'd both be free?

  ➔ Indirect speech ("told you to run"); "so that" implied with "so"; conditional "would"

  ➔ "Told you to run" reports a past instruction. "So we'd both be free" indicates purpose or result, implying "so that" we would both be free. "Would" expresses a conditional result in the past.