Throughout his prolific career, James Newton Howard has scored films of all scales and genres, earning multiple award nominations for his work. Howard began studying music as a young child and went on to attend the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California and then majored in piano performance at the University of Southern California. After Howard left college, he toured with Elton John and Toto as a keyboardist during the late 1970s and early 1980s before moving into film music in the mid-1980s.
By the 1990s, Howard truly hit his career stride, scoring the surprise blockbuster romantic comedy Pretty Woman (1990) and receiving his first Academy Award nomination for his score for Barbra Streisand's drama The Prince of Tides (1991). Setting the musical mood for numerous films throughout the decade, Howard's skills encompassed a plethora of genres, including two more best original score Oscar nominations, the Harrison Ford actioner The Fugitive (1993) and the Julia Roberts romantic comedy My Best Friend's Wedding. In addition, Howard scored the Western epic Wyatt Earp (1994), the legal drama Primal Fear (1996), and the blockbuster M. Night Shyamalan suspense thrillers The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable (2000), Signs (2002), and The Village (2004). His collaborations on tunes for One Fine Day (1996) and Junior (1994) garnered Best Song nods. Along with scoring such smaller, character-driven films as Five Corners (1988), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), and American Heart (1993), Howard proved equally skilled at composing for big-budget Hollywood spectacles, including Space Jam (1996), Dante's Peak (1997), Dinosaur (2000), and Collateral (2004). Although for Dante's Peak he only composed the main theme only, the score itself was composed by John Frizzell. Though he concentrated primarily on films, Howard has also contributed music for TV series, earning an Emmy nomination in 1995 for his theme to NBC's ratings smash ER.
Howard is now one of the most recognized composers for film. His work in 2004 on The Village, with violin solos by Hilary Hahn, earned him an Oscar nomination. Since, he has composed for several major motion pictures, notably the score for Batman Begins which he co-wrote with Hans Zimmer. On October 14, 2005, it was officially announced that Howard would replace Howard Shore as composer for King Kong, due to "differing creative aspirations for the score" between Shore and director Peter Jackson. The resultant score earned Howard his first Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Score.
Since then he has been nominated for Best Original Score for the legal thriller Michael Clayton in 2008 and the war film Defiance in 2009. Since then he has composed music for blockbuster franchises and solo films including I Am Legend,The Dark Knight with Hans Zimmer, all of The Hunger Games films and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. He was nominated for another Academy Award nomination in 2021 for his work on News of the World
The Hanging Tree
James Newton Howard Lyrics
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Coming to the tree
Where they strung up a man
They say who murdered three?
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where a dead man called out
For his love to flee?
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met 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 at midnight
In the hanging tree
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree?
Wear a necklace of hope
Side by side with me
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met 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 at midnight
In the hanging tree
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where they strung up a man
They say who murdered three?
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where a dead man called out
For his love to flee?
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree
The Hanging Tree, written by James Newton Howard for the movie 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1', is a haunting and mysterious song with deep-rooted connotations. The lyrics revolve around a hanging tree where a man was hanged for murdering three people. The song is an invitation to someone, possibly a lover or a friend, to meet up at midnight at the same tree where the man was hanged, to escape and be free. The person being invited may have been involved in the murder or may have witnessed it, and this is their chance to absolve themselves of any guilt.
The tree is portrayed as a place where strange things happen and where the dead man calls out for his love to flee. The line "wear a necklace of hope, side by side with me" further emphasizes the desire for the person to come to the tree and escape together. The lyrics have a sense of foreboding and desperation, creating a picture of a dark and dangerous place where anything and everything can happen.
The song is not only a significant part of the Hunger Games movie series but has also become a popular song worldwide. The chilling tune and eerie lyrics make it unforgettable, giving it a timeless quality.
Line by Line Meaning
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree?
Where they strung up a man
They say who murdered three
Are you planning to visit the tree where a man was hanged for committing the murder of three people?
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree
The place where the man was hanged had unusual events occur, so it wouldn't be surprising if we met there at midnight.
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where dead man called out
For his love to flee?
Do you plan on visiting the tree where a man called out to his lover to run away before he died and still haunts the place?
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 at midnight
In the hanging tree
Is the tree where I instructed you to run so we could both be free the same as the place where strange events occurred and we could potentially meet there at midnight?
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Wear a necklace of hope
Side by side with me?
Will you join me at the tree wearing a necklace of hope, symbolizing our desire for a better future together?
Where they strung up a man
They say who murdered three
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree
Again, the song emphasizes the tree where the man was hanged and it being a place of unusual events, making it not unusual for us to potentially meet at midnight there.
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where dead man called out
For his love to flee?
Once more, the song refers to the tree where the man called out to his lover to escape before he died, increasing the supernatural elements of the story.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Suzanne Collins, James Newton Howard, Jeremy C Fraites, Wesley Keith Schultz
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind