Hanging Tree

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