"The Hanging Tree" lyrics

I came to town to search for gold
And I brought with me a memory
And I seemed to hear the night wind cry

Go hang your dreams on the hanging tree
Your dreams of love that could 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'd left my heart on the hanging tree
I'd left my heart with a memory
And a faded dream on the hanging tree

Now there were men who craved my gold
And they meant to take my gold from me
When a 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 the gold and they set me free

And I walked away from the hanging tree
I walked away from the hanging tree

And my own true love, oh yes, she walked with me
That's when I knew that the hanging 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 hanging tree, the hanging tree
The hanging tree