The Hanging Tree

High upon the mountainside
 There grows an ancient tree
 It's story has been handed down
 all through my family
 A Vile and twisted, evil thing
 That stood the test of time
 Through wind and rain and hurricane
 and still the Tree's alive
 But Toinight It's comin' down
 I'm gonna put it on the ground
 The Hangin' tree
 The year was 1864
 when a band of rebel men
 were captured by the union boys
 that's how the tale began
 the hung em' up
 and shot em' in
 before they cut em' down
 their blood ran down the trunk
 and fed the roots down underground
 But Toinight It's comin' down
 I'm gonna put it on the ground
 The Hangin' tree
 I heard that it's been there
 since the before the dawn of men
 But I'm the one who brang it down
 tonight with these two hands
 the hangin' tree
 In 1952,
 a young man sleepin' in his bed
 was wakin' by an angry mob with hoods upon their heads
 the cowards hung him from the tree
 afraid to show their face
 convinced the evil thing they'd done
 was strengthining their race
 But Toinight It's comin' down
 I'm gonna put it on the ground
 The Hangin' tree
 ten years ago
 my daddy lost his job down at the mill
 and then he fell into the world of alcohol and bills
 my momma left
 the only thing she took with her was me
 and my daddy climbed the mountainside to board the hangin tree
 But Toinight It's comin' down
 I'll put the damn thing on the ground
 The Hangin' tree
 I heard that it's been there
 since the before the dawn of men
 But I'm the one who brang it down
 tonight with these two hands
 the hangin' tree