I came to town to search for gold
And I brought with me a memory
And I seemed to hear the night winds cry
Go hang your dreams on the hanging tree
Your dreams of love that will never be
Hang your faded dreams on the hanging tree.

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 left my heart on the hanging tree,
Left my heart with a memory
And my faded dreams on the hanging tree.

Now there were men who craved my gold
And meant to take my gold from me
Where man is gone he needs no gold
So they carried me to the hanging tree
To join my dreams and a memory
Yes, they carried me to the hanging tree.

To really live you must almost die
And it happened just that way with me
They took my gold and set me free
And I walked away from the hanging tree
I walked away from the hanging tree
And my own true love, she walked with me.

That's when I knew that the hanging tree
Is the tree of life, new life for me
The tree of hope, new hope for me,
The tree of love, new love for me,
The hanging tree the hanging tree the hanging tree.