I came to town to search for gold

And I brought with me a memory

And I seem to hear the night wind cry,

"Go hang your dreams on the hangin' tree

Your dreams of love that could never be

Hang your faded dreams on the hangin' tree!"



I searched tor gold and I found my gold

And I found a girl who loved just me

And I wished that I could love her too

But I'd left my heart on the hangin' tree

I'd left my heart with a memory

And a faded dream on the hangin' tree.



Now there were men who craved my gold

And meant to take my gold from me

When a man is gone he needs no gold

So they carried me to the hangin' tree

To join my dreams and a memory

Yes they carried me to the hangin' tree.



To really live you must almost die

And it happened just that way with me

They took the gold and set me free

And I walked away from the hangin' tree

I walked away from the hangin' tree

And my own true love, she walked with me!



That's when I knew that the hangin' tree

Was a tree of life, new life for me

A tree of hope, new hope for me

A tree of love, new love tor me

The hangin' tree, the hangin' tree, the hangin' tree