A C D
Well, I can hear mamma singin' the hangin' tree
C G A
Sound like someone singin' harmony
A C D
And me and my brother we don't make a peep
C G A
We go down slow to the hangin' tree
A C D
Hangin' tree's down by the river's edge
C G A
We come up stream and peek over the ledge
A C D
And mamma's got a rope and a kitchen knife
C G A
And the harmony singer is the preacher's wife
A C D
Mamma put a bible in her right hand
C G A
And asked her if she been seein' her man
A C D
Well, me and my brother don't hear no more
C G A
Cause right then the rain began to pour
A C D
It was an hour past dark when she came back home
C G A
And we never saw papa round here no more
A C D
Mamma took to sittin' by the hangin' tree
C G A
But there ain't no body singin' harmony
A C D
The preacher's wife she don't leave his side
C G A
And we ain't got papa to tan no hide
A C D
My older brother he took his life
C G A
And I took to peepin' on the preacher's wife
A C D
I left my mamma when I was sixteen
C G A
Strung up in the limbs of the hangin' tree
