[Verse 1]
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!"

(The hangin' 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

But I'd left my heart on the hangin' tree
I'd left my heart with a memory (a memory)
And a faded dream on the hangin' tree

(The hangin' tree)

[Verse 3]
Now there were men who craved my gold
And meant to take (ooh) 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 (a memory)
Yes, they carried me to the hangin' tree

(The hangin' tree)

[Verse 4]
To really live you must almost die (wop doo-wah)
And it happened just that way with me (wop doo-wah)
They took the gold and set me free

(Ah) And I walked away from the hangin' tree
I walked away from the hangin' tree
(the hangin' tree)
And my own true love, she walked with me!

[Bridge]
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 for me
The hangin' tree (the hangin' tree)
The hangin' tree (the hangin' tree)
The hangin' tree! (the hangin' tree)