The Hanging Tree is a western ballad from the 1959 movie The Hanging Tree. It was scored by Max Steiner and written by Mack David and Jerry Livingston who received nominations for the Laurel Awards and the Academy Awards in 1960. The text is a short reference to the film's story. It was also released on the reissue of the album Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs (1959) by Marty Robbins who performed this song in the opening credits of this film. A known cover-version is by Frankie Laine who performed this song at the 32nd Academy Awards.
Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.