- See also: Hanging tree
"The Hanging Tree" is a song first introduced in Mockingjay that carried thematic significance throughout the novel. The song also featured prominently in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which provided an origin story for the song's creation. In real life, its lyrics were written by Suzanne Collins, produced by James Newton Howard, with music by Jeremiah Fraites and Wesley Schultz.
History[]
Mockingjay[]
Katniss Everdeen learned the song from her father when she was young. Mrs. Everdeen heard Katniss singing it one day while she and her sister Prim made necklaces of rope, like the lyrics mentioned. Although the girls did not understand the true meaning of the song, Mrs. Everdeen became fearful because of its morbid and rebellious bent. She yelled at Mr. Everdeen, which drove Katniss into the Meadow to cry under a tree. After finding her, Mr. Everdeen told Katniss to forget the song, but Katniss ended up remembering every word of it. After Mr. Everdeen's death, the song played itself over and over in Katniss's head.[1]
Katniss eventually understood that the person singing the song was a dead man calling for his lover to come join him in death. The thought at first seemed disturbing to her, but when she ended up spontaneously performing the song for Pollux, she remembered how after her rescue from the 75th Hunger Games arena, she was about to kill Peeta Mellark with a syringe to keep him safe from the Capitol; she decided that a life of torture was a far worse fate than death.[1]
While recovering from his hijacking, Peeta was shown a recording of Katniss singing "The Hanging Tree". The clip had never aired, and had thus not been used by the Capitol in his torture, so the doctors in District 13 were able to use it as part of his deprogramming. Peeta said that when he was six or seven, he heard Mr. Everdeen singing the same song once when he came to trade at the bakery.[2]
Film adaptation[]
Katniss Sings 'The Hanging Tree' - The Hunger Games- Mockingjay Part 1
An official version of the song was recorded for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1. In this film, Plutarch Heavensbee claimed he changed the words "necklace of rope" to "necklace of hope" in the recording for the Capitol. After airing a propo in which Katniss sang this edited version of "The Hanging Tree", rebels took it up as a protest song as they marched towards a hydroelectric dam. They then launched a human wave attack against a small group of armed Peacekeepers, and they planted crates of explosives inside, destroying the dam and causing a massive power outage in the Capitol. This weakened their ability to broadcast propaganda, allowing rebel forces to carry out a rescue mission freeing the remaining victors who were held captive.[3]
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes[]
Lucy Gray sing Hanging Tree
"The Hanging Tree" was one of many songs composed by Lucy Gray Baird, recounting the execution of Arlo Chance at the real hanging tree. Arlo was said to have been responsible for an explosion in the mines that killed three people. When he was taken to the gallows, his lover Lil came forward to protest, and he yelled at her to run.[4] After he was hanged, jabberjays and mockingjays continued to mimic his exchange with Lil.[5]
When Coriolanus Snow came to see Lucy Gray in the Meadow, she was beginning to compose "The Hanging Tree".[6] She later sang it in full at Commander Hoff's birthday party, as a coded message to Snow about where they should meet the next day to run away from District 12.[7] Commander Hoff asked Lucy Gray not to sing it anymore, as he considered it "too dark". However, Lucy Gray believed the real reason was that it was too rebellious.[8] Soon after, Hoff was replaced by a new commander, who banned all musical performances at the Hob on the grounds that music caused trouble.[9]
Lyrics[]
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where they strung up a man they say murdered three?
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where the dead man called out for his love to flee?
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where I told you to run, so we'd both be free?
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.
Versions[]
Mockingjay - Part 1[]
The original Mockingjay - Part 1 recording, performed by Jennifer Lawrence, was released by Republic Records on The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on November 24th, 2014. It was later released on December 9, 2014 as the film's second official single. It debuted at number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 for the week of December 13th, 2014.[10]
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes[]
On October 20th, 2023, Rachel Zegler's rendition of "The Hanging Tree" was released as the first official single for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. It also featured on the album The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (Music From & Inspired By), released on November 17th, 2023.
Awards[]
| Year | Award | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | International Film Music Critics Association Award for Film Music Composition of the Year | Nominated |
| Online Film & Television Association Award for Best Music, Adapted Song | Nominated |
Trivia[]
- On the last night of the 75th Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta were split up, and they were supposed to meet up at the tree at midnight,[11] like the lyrics in this song.
- When Peeta and the other victors were rescued from the Capitol, Katniss saw him in person for the first time since the Games at midnight.[12] She also visited him at midnight on the night of Finnick and Annie's wedding.[13]
- Although the song was written about Arlo Chance, Coriolanus Snow speculated that it could have been about Billy Taupe Clade, Lucy Gray's ex-lover, because the hanging tree had been their private meet-up spot, and Billy Taupe had intended to leave the district with her before he was killed.[7] Later, Snow thought she was singing "The Hanging Tree" at him in the woods to taunt him about the three people he killed: Bobbin, Mayfair Lipp, and Sejanus Plinth.[8]
- "The Hanging Tree" was only performed once before it was banned.[7][8]
- Because of this, the only people who could have passed down knowledge of the song were the Peacekeepers attending the party, and the Covey, who performed that night alongside Lucy Gray. As a result, many fans speculate that Katniss and her father could be descended from Lucy Gray or another member of the Covey— most commonly through Maude Ivory Baird, Lucy Gray's younger cousin. Maude Ivory shared Katniss's ability to memorize music after a listen or two.[14][1]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Mockingjay, Chapter 9
- ↑ Mockingjay, Chapter 15
- ↑ The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
- ↑ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 22
- ↑ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 23
- ↑ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 24
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 29
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 30
- ↑ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Epilogue
- ↑ Jennifer Lawrence Debuts on Hot 100: ‘The Hanging Tree’ Bows at No. 12
- ↑ Catching Fire, Chapter 26
- ↑ Mockingjay, Chapter 13
- ↑ Mockingjay, Chapter 16
- ↑ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 12