They said hang him high
So they cleared the woods
West of the dried up creek
And the forest
North of the blasted mill

To build a gallows
With a thousand stairs
Some said two thousand
While the master carpenter said
He lost count

So we crowded
To watch the hangman
Escort the condemned up
And we watched them
Rise and ascend

Until they disappeared into the clouds
And we waited to see the body drop
And the hangman descend
But neither appeared
Then the gallows came crashing down

And all we could find in the pile
Were boards, nails, and a noose
But the hangman, the condemned
Or any remnants of them
were nowhere to be seen