Alison Krauss & Union Station – The Hangman (Guitar)

Capo 3
Key
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Chords

As recorded by Alison Krauss & Union Station (From the 2025 Album ARCADIA) [Intro] Em Am Em [Verse 1]
Em
Into our town the Hangman came

Em
Smelling of gold and blood and flame

                                         Am
And he paced our bricks with a diffident air

                                      Em
And built his frame on the courthouse square
[Verse 2]
Em
The scaffold stood by the courthouse side

Em
Only as wide as the door was wide

                            Am
A frame as tall or a little more

                                        Em
Than the capping sill of the courthouse door
[Verse 3]
Em
And we wondered, we had the time

Em
Who the criminal, what the crime

                                   Am
The Hangman judged with the yellow twist

                            Em
Of knotted hemp in his busy fist
[Verse 4]
Em
And innocent though we werе with dread

Em
We passed thosе eyes of buckshot lead

                                 Am
Till one cried, "Hangman, who is he

                               Em
For whom you raise the gallows tree?"
[Interlude] Em Am Em [Verse 5]
Em
A twinkle grew in the buckshot eye

Em
He gave us a riddle instead of reply

                                  Am
"He who served me the best," said he

                                    Em
"Shall earn the rope on the gallows tree"
[Verse 6]
Em
The next day's sun looked mildly down

Em
On roof and street in our quiet town

                               Am
Stark and black in the morning air

                                   Em
The gallows tree on the courthouse square