The History of "The Hanging Tree" Song in The Hunger Games Saga

Tara Bennett

If you've watched The Hunger Games Saga/em(airing a href="https://www.syfy.com/schedule" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"on strongSYFY/strong this month/a)em,/emthere are two distinct aural markers that signify the films: the trill of the Mockingjay's call and the haunting folk song, "The Hanging Tree." The latter is presented by a href="https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/suzanne-collins-on-her-hunger-games-prequel-novel"authorSuzanne Collins/ain the book and film canon as a song important to Panem history, originating from District 12, the home of Katniss Everdeen (a href="https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/topic/jennifer-lawrence" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"Jennifer Lawrence/a)./p pA contemplative ballad about murders committed upon its branches, "The Hanging Tree" in the mouth of Katniss eventually becomes an anthem of rebellion for the District uprising that's core to the last two films, a href="https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-movies/the-hunger-games-mockingjay-part-1"emThe Mockingjay Part I/em/a and a href="https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-movies/the-hunger-games-mockingjay-part-2"emPart II/em/a. Of course the song exists, as its featured in a key scene inemThe Mockingjay Part I /emand in the prequel novel and film,a href="https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/topic/the-hunger-games-the-ballad-of-songbirds-and-snakes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"emThe Hunger Games:/em/aia href="https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/topic/the-hunger-games-the-ballad-of-songbirds-and-snakes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes/a./iBut how did it come to be?/p pstrongFor More onem The Hunger Games/em:bra href="https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/breaking-down-characters-canon-that-connect-hunger-games-across-saga"Breaking Down the Characters and Canon that Connect The Hunger Games Saga/abra href="https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/10-greatest-moments-from-the-hunger-games-saga"The 10 Greatest Moments from The Hunger Games Saga/abra href="https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-hunger-games-canon"5 Things You Need to Know About The Hunger Games Canon/a/strong/p h2The Origin of emThe Hunger Games/em Song, "The Hanging Tree"/h2 p/pdiv class="embed-code-other embed-code-youtube"iframe loading="lazy" fetchpriority="low" src="about:blank" data-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vZPzZ_NEwEQ?si=aGXLKq_wNOzZG3ix" class="optanon-category-13" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 560 / 315;"/iframe/div pCollins introduces "The Hanging Tree" song into the canon of her mythology in the first emThe Hunger Games/em book. The song reflects theAppalachian-type roots of District 12, home of the Everdeen family. Katniss learns the song from her father, who sang it to her as a child. After his death, Katniss' mother forbids her daughters from singing it anymore./p pThe song's dark themes are meant to reflect the oppression of the Capitol and how the people of the District endure its authoritarian style of justice. The lyrics were written by Collins in prose, however, a melody wasn't associated with the lyrics until the making of the films. For the third film in the saga, ia href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunger_Games:_Mockingjay_%E2%80%93_Part_1"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1/a,/iCollins' lyrics were used as the basis for the song written by composer James Newton Howard and songwritersJeremiah FraitesandWesley Schultzofthe band The Lumineers./p p"The Hanging Tree" was included in the third film's official soundtrack with vocals performed by Lawrence. She performed the song live on set for a scene in the film where Katniss is asked to sing the song, and its captured on film by her Star team members. Then District 13 President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore) and her propaganda expert, Plutarch Heavensbee(Philip Seymour Hoffman) broadcast the song to all of Panem, where it becomes a solemn rallying cry for all of the rebels./p h2Lucy Gray's creation of "The Hanging Tree"/h2 p/pdiv class="embed-code-other embed-code-youtube"iframe loading="lazy" fetchpriority="low" src="about:blank" data-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1t4BE7FA-rM?si=syIO225qUzmdcRWF" class="optanon-category-13" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 560 / 315;"/iframe/div pInterestingly, "The Hanging Tree's" origin story gets fleshed out in the prequel book and film,emThe Hunger Games:/emiThe Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. /iSixty-four years before the events of Katniss Everdeen's life, the prequel reveals that the song was composed byLucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), the first Hunger Games victor from District 12./p pAs the winner of the 10th games,Baird returns to her District and it becomes one of her signature songs. She writes it after witnessingthe execution of Arlo Chance at a District's hanging tree. Chance is accused of killing two Peacekeepers and a coal mine boss, which explains the three people referenced in the lyrics. The song then takes on a deeper, darker meaning when Baird discovers thatCoriolanusSnow has killed three people too./p pemstrongCatchThe Hunger Games Sagaairing this montha href="https://www.syfy.com/schedule" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"on SYFY/a!/strong/em/p