The Hangin Tree

G C F C G G C Well, I can hear mamma singin' the hangin' tree Bb C G Sound like someone singin' harmony G C And me and my brother we don't make a peep Bb C G We go down slow to the hangin' tree G C Hangin' tree's down by the river's edge Bb C G We come up stream and peek over the ledge G C And mamma's got a rope and a kitchen knife Bb C G And the harmony singer is the preacher's wife G C Mamma put a bible in her right hand Bb C G And asked her if she been seein' her man G C Well, me and my brother don't hear no more Bb C G Cause right then the rain began to pour G C It was an hour past dark when she came back home Bb C G And we never saw papa round here no more G C Mamma took to sittin' by the hangin' tree Bb C G But there ain't no body singin' harmony G C Bb C G G C The preacher's wife she don't leave his side Bb C G And we ain't got papa to tan no hide G C My older brother he took his life Bb C G And I took to peepin' on the preacher's wife G C Bb C G 6x G C I left my mamma when I was sixteen F C G Strung up in the limbs of the hangin' tree