[Verse 1]
I came to town to search for gold
And I brought with me a memory
And I seemed to hear the night wind cry

[Chorus]
Go hang your dreams on the hanging tree
Your dreams of love that could never be
Hang your faded dreams on the hanging tree

[Verse 2]
I searched for gold and I found my gold
And I found a girl who loved just me
And I wished that I could love her too

[Chorus]
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

[Verse 3]
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

[Chorus]
So they carried me to the hanging tree
To join my dreams and a memory
Yes, they carried me to the hanging tree
[Verse 4]
To really live you must almost die
And it happened just that way with me
They took the gold and they set me free

[Chorus]
And I walked away from the hanging tree
I walked away from the hanging tree

[Verse 5]
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

[Chorus]
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