The Hanging Tree : Song of The Revolution

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I admit that’s the best part of the movie for me. I’m talking about that part in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 where Katniss, Kyle and the film crew sit down by the river in District Twelve having a bite then Pollux, an Avox who had his tongue cut out by the Capitol for being a rebel, signals to Katniss to sing something to the Mockingjays. Katniss takes a deep breathe then lays it on my ear- and it’s been hovering there ever since. So I decided I had to write something about it.

It’s more than just a catchy song, here are the lyrics:

Are you, are you

Coming to the tree

Where they strung up a man, they said 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

The first stanza makes me think of a lover, calling out to his significant other to set up a clandestine date at midnight. It basically reads “Hey, are you coming? You know, to that tree where they hung up that guy. Say midnight? It’s as good a place as any to meet” .

Now,in verse two we get a little more detail about the man who was hang on that tree.

“…the dead man called out for his love to flee.”

That’s eerie, a talking corpse. Assuming- in the world of this song of course- that corpses can talk maybe the corpse’s lover was involved in the murders he’s accused of and he is telling her to run. To escape before the authorities catch her and hang her as well or meet out some other form of punishment.

In the third stanza things start to get really weird. It becomes clear that the voice in the song, the voice singing the song is that of the corpse itself! Look at this:

“Are you, are you

Coming to the tree

Where I told you to run, so we’d both be free. ”

So the dead man is telling his lover to run to  the tree, not away from it. Freedom for both of them lies in death – hanging together on that tree. This still seems to make sense, after all, we have all heard stories of lovers who would rather die together than live in a world where they were apart from each other. Romeo and Juliet springs to mind at this time.

The final verse serves to merely confirm my suspicions. The hanging corpse definitely wants his lover to join him

“Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me”

In that light “The Hanging Tree” has to be one of the most  depressing love songs I have ever heard. But wait, we are not done just yet.  To get the intended meaning of any song the context in which it is sung is just as important as the words of the song itself. Context creates meaning. Consider the fact that the rebels use Katniss’ song to inspire the other Districts to join the revolution- to fight against the Capitol. Now let me take you back to the first stanza:

“…

Where they strung up a man, they said murdered three ”

We don’t really know that the corpse is guilty. It is only said that he murdered three people. This is probably an allusion to the lies and defamation told by the ruling class about the rebels to justify the act of silencing them. Next, consider the time of the scheduled meeting:

“…If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree ”

There is something secretive going on here. People meeting at such odd hours are definitely planning something. Maybe they’re trying to elope- or bring down the government.

Finally:

“…

Strange things did happen here

No stranger would it be…”

I believe these two lines are a reference to past revolutions in the society of Panem. They basically read “We’ve had revolutions before, what’s one more?”

In summary, the “Hanging Tree” is a haunting revolutionary’s song, a call to arms. Decoded it reads, “Come brothers, join the fight. We’ve revolted before in the past, so why should we put up with the injustices of this government? Better dead and free than alive and oppressed.”