The Hangman
Alison Krauss & Union Station"The Hangman" is a song by Alison Krauss & Union Station, released in 2025 in the Pop genre. The song is 3:24 long and contains 24 lines and 176 words.
Lyrics
0:27Into our town the Hangman came
0:34Smelling of gold and blood and flame
0:40And he paced our bricks with a diffident air
0:47And built his frame on the courthouse square
0:54The scaffold stood by the courthouse side
1:00Only as wide as the door was wide
1:07A frame as tall or a little more
1:13Than the capping sill of the courthouse door
1:28And we wondered we had the time
1:35Who the criminal what the crime
1:41The Hangman judged with the yellow twist
1:48Of knotted hemp in his busy fist
1:55And innocent though we were with dread
2:02We passed those eyes of buckshot lead
2:09Till one cried "Hangman who is he
2:15For whom you raise the gallows tree?"
2:36A twinkle grew in the buckshot eye
2:43He gave us a riddle instead of reply
2:50"He who served me the best" said he
2:56"Shall earn the rope on the gallows tree"
3:04The next day's sun looked mildly down
3:11On roof and street in our quiet town
3:18Stark and black in the morning air
3:24The gallows tree on the courthouse square
Into our town the Hangman came Smelling of gold and blood and flame And he paced our bricks with a diffident air And built his frame on the courthouse square The scaffold stood by the courthouse side Only as wide as the door was wide A frame as tall or a little more Than the capping sill of the courthouse door And we wondered we had the time Who the criminal what the crime The Hangman judged with the yellow twist Of knotted hemp in his busy fist And innocent though we were with dread We passed those eyes of buckshot lead Till one cried "Hangman who is he For whom you raise the gallows tree?" A twinkle grew in the buckshot eye He gave us a riddle instead of reply "He who served me the best" said he "Shall earn the rope on the gallows tree" The next day's sun looked mildly down On roof and street in our quiet town Stark and black in the morning air The gallows tree on the courthouse square
Translation
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