Song: Hangman
Artist: Marty Stuart (& His Fabulous Superlatives)
Album: Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions
Words and music by: Marty Stuart & J.R. Cash
Tuning: Standard
Capo: 1st fret
This was probably the last song that Johnny Cash ever wrote, and it s a good thing
that he wrote it with Marty Stuart, as he s somebody who knows how to carry on the
traditions that Cash had been laying down since the 1950s. It s also fitting that
it s a prison song. If you haven t already, then check out all the other songs on
this album, as it s definitely one of Stuart s finest (except the song Porter
Wagoner s Grave ... that s s**t).
I killed another man today, it s hard to believe,
That I lost count at thirty, and I ve grown too numb to grieve.
The bottle helps me cope, when I lay down at night,
And when the dope rolls through my veins, it all fades out of sight.
Hangman, Hangman,
That s my stock and trade.
Hangman, Hangman,
Sending bad men to their grave.
But who killed who? I ask myself,
Time and time again.
God have mercy on the soul,
Of this Hangman.
And there s a woman down the street, named Rosalie McFall,
She don t ask me any questions, when I come to call.
Her body keeps me warm, her words are soft and kind,
She holds me in her arms, til the bad dreams leave my mind.
Hangman, Hangman,
That s my stock and trade.
Hangman, Hangman,
Sending bad men to their grave.
But who killed who? I ask myself,
Time and time again.
God have mercy on the soul,
Of this Hangman.