The Hanging Tree

It stands in the middle of a forbidden forest
in a clearing surrounded in a circle of stones
The blood of innocents spilled over its roots
It is littered with piles of human bones

The tree, with its branches all dead and gnarled
bore witness to some terrible things
Most people know to stay far away
They all know what kinds of horror it brings

Led to the tree the victims were forced
to walk in their shackles on the cursed ground
Old Judge Crawford ruled with an iron hand
There was no doubt he was the meanest man around

Accused of stealing another man's horse
Farmer Bill Riley was the first to go
The people all knew he was innocent
and the whole town told Judge Crawford so

Their pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears
as the farmer was led to the old dead tree
Right then and there the farmer was hanged
for the whole entire town to see

A shootout occurred in the middle of town
One died and one man ran away
Judge Crawford formed a posse and hunted him down
He hung on the tree that very day

A poor schoolteacher was the next to die
"She's a witch!" the judge shouted aloud
He hung her from that old dead tree
in front of an angry and hostile crowd

Many more people were hung from the tree
by Old Judge Crawford's demands
The town was angry at all he had done
They would take justice in their own hands

One night while the judge slept in his bed
the townspeople barged through the door
They hung Old Judge Crawford from that dead old tree
"He won't hurt anyone else" they solemnly swore

Stay away from the hanging tree
The land is cursed and dead
The only living things that remain
are the ravens that circle overhead