In Mockingjay, what was the meaning of the "hanging tree" song?: originally appeared on Quora: The best answer to any question. Ask a question, get a great answer. Learn from experts and access insider knowledge. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.
1. For reference, here are the song lyrics. The unique, non-repeated line from verse to verse is in italics.
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 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 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 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 at midnight in the hanging tree.
2. Katniss's direct inner monologue on the song from the book, Mockingjay is below. While not a full analysis of the song, you get a sense of why the song is important to her.
"... We didn't sing it anymore, my father and I, or even speak of it. After he died, it used to come back to me a lot. Being older, I began to understand the lyrics. At the beginning, it sounds like a guy is trying to get his girlfriend to secretly meet up with him at midnight. But it's an odd place for a tryst, a hanging tree, where a man was hung for murder. The murderer's lover must have had something to do with the killing, or maybe they were just going to punish her anyway, because his corpse called out for her to flee. That's weird obviously, the talking-corpse bit, but it's not until the third verse that "The Hanging Tree" begins to get unnerving. You realize the singer of the song is the dead murderer. He's still in the hanging tree. And even though he told his lover to flee, he keeps asking if she's coming to meet him. The phrase "Where I told you to run, so we'd both be free" is the most troubling because at first you think he's talking about when he told her to flee, presumably to safety. But then you wonder if he meant for her to run to him. To death. In the final stanza, it's clear that that's what he's waiting for. His lover, with her rope necklace, hanging dead next to him in the tree.
...I used to think the murderer was the creepiest guy imaginable. Now, with a couple of trips to the Hunger Games under my belt, I decide not to judge him without knowing more details. Maybe his lover was already sentenced to death and he was trying to make it easier. To let her know he'd be waiting. Or maybe he thought the place he was leaving her was really worse than death..."
3. A personal interpretation
First, my interpretation of the repeated lines:
- "Are you, are you coming to the tree": This is the singer beckoning the audience to return not necessarily to a physical place, but rather a state of mind and remembrance of purpose (to be free) and who the "real enemy" is.
"Strange things did happen here": This is acknowledgment of what humans do to oppress, control, exploit each other and the atrocities ("strange things", like innocents being hanged) that result when people fight against this oppression for their freedom. "No stranger would it be, if we met at midnight in the hanging tree": This line after the changed line in the verses indicates that it is not unreasonable or strange to have to sacrifice your life to be free of enslavement and torture. The line indicates martyrdom given that the meeting is "in" in the hanging tree and not "at" the hanging tree. And midnight could symbolize death of a prior day and start of a new one, which messages that even if lives are lost, the fight for basic freedom continues on.Now, for the unique lines in the verses:
- "Where they strung up a man they say murdered three": You don't get the sense that the referenced man is actually a murderer, rather that an ominous "they" have accused a man of doing so and have strung him up. Perhaps the man in the song did murder three (or spat on 3 Peacekeepers) and perhaps he did so in rebellion; we don't know. [Incidencally, when I first encountered this song in Mockingjay, I thought this was Suzanne Collins's nod to, "Strange Fruit" which was an important song / protest against racism and lynchings during the American Civil Rights Movement.]
"Where the dead man called out for his love to flee": Initially, reinforces the notion that the man may be innocent and wants to protect his love, encouraging him/her to flee to safety. "Where I told you to run so we'd both be free": The transition from 3rd person to 1st person suggests that the dead man is metaphor for the singer, who is likely being wrongly punished. The line indicates that the singer thinks that the singer and the audience could both be free of oppression (the singer, in death and the audience, by fleeing - either to safety, or as Katniss muses... running to the tree to fight and be free, either in victory or in death). "Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me": This shift in tense seems as if the singer is saying, that they've been at the tree before, fighting for their freedoms. The singer is now making a call to action, asking the audience to join him/her, perhaps in the ultimate sacrifice of life.4. The song as a rallying cry for the rebellion?
There are several parts in the book that suggest it is a rallying cry for rebellion against the Capitol's oppression that has meaning even before Katniss uses it for the rebellion.
- Katniss has not sung the song aloud for about 10 years. She indicates in the book that doing so is forbidden. (Perhaps forbidden by the Capitol if it was used in the prior rebellion?)
Katniss's mother uncharacteristically yells at Katniss's father when Katniss and Prim sing the song as little girls. Katniss's mother is trying to protect her family, knowing that they can be punished for singing the song. This strengthened the idea for me that the song had meaning for the districts as a rebel song, even before Katniss was old enough to understand the lyrics. Katniss notes that executions by hanging were not unusual in the districts...In the book, the filmed song could not be used as a piece of propaganda for the rebellion since it never actually aired. But it has significance given the importance of the song to Katniss and her father (and his generation) and in being a clip that Peeta sees without having adverse hijacked reactions to Katniss since Peeta remembers Katniss's father singing it at the bakery when Peeta was a young boy.
Characters familiar with the song use it as a reminder in the book to prioritize freedom for all over things such as surrender/enslavement, suicide, or revenge.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.