From band site: THREE MEN HANGING is about the first signs of hopelessness … Read Full Bio ↴From band site: THREE MEN HANGING is about the first signs of hopelessness that the townspeople begin to feel as they realize their imminent doom. They begin to wander around the town, finding their friends and family strung up from trees, dangling in the wind. The town has begun to fall apart, and the devil's forces have become too strong. The chorus illustrates this scene: "I seen three men hangin from a sycamore, their bodies were stiff as a 2x4 and their heads were tilted down towards the ground. Well it ain't been long since they been up there that their bodies turned cold hangin in that air and they mighta froze before that noose got to them..." This scene is also taken from a wood etching Vincent found while looting the local library for images for the record. It is used on the back of the cd case. The narrator of this song urges the townspeople to give up, and to get on with it and kill themselves before the devil gets to them. The INTERMISSION is next. We left Vince to his own devices in the studio with the idea of the intermission music played in old movies between scenes.

Three Men Hanging
Murder By Death Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Get on with it
Put off the fuss you chickenshit
Get on with it
Can't you see it's time to quit

I seen three men hanging from a sycamore
Their bodies were stiff as a 2 x 4
And their heads were tilted towards the dirt

And it ain't been long since they been up there
That their bodies turned cold hangin in the air
They mighta froze before that noose got to them

Old scratch has dealt us a dirty hand
He had the look of a saint but the greed of a man
and his face was worn and wrinkled like a leather book

And if I put this revolver to my head

Will God turn against me instead
of taking pity on a broken man?

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of the song "Three Men Hanging" by Murder by Death talk about a grim and morbid scene of three men hanging from a sycamore tree. The first stanza urges the listener to stop procrastinating and get on with things as it is time to face the reality.

The second stanza describes the disturbing sight of three men hanging from a tree whose bodies are stiff like a piece of 2x4 wooden plank. Their heads are tilted towards the ground, which depicts their agony and suffering. The next line suggests that it hasn't been long since they were hanged, but the coldness of their bodies showed otherwise. The stanza also implies that they might have frozen even before being hanged, which highlights the brutality of their punishment.

The third stanza talks about the injustice that is prevalent in the world. The singer blames the devil, whom he refers to as 'Old scratch,' for the dirty hand dealt with them. He describes the devil as someone who seems like a saint but has the greed of a man. The line "his face was worn and wrinkled like a leather book" further emphasizes the devil's vile nature. The final stanza of the song conveys the despair and hopelessness of the singer. He questions whether God will show him mercy if he ends his misery by pulling the trigger on himself.

Overall, the song "Three Men Hanging" is a poetic portrayal of the vicious cycle of violence and injustice that exists in our society.

Line by Line Meaning

Get on with it
Stop hesitating or delaying and take action.

Put off the fuss you chickenshit
Stop worrying or complaining and act courageously.

Can't you see it's time to quit
Realize that it's time to stop and give up.

I seen three men hanging from a sycamore
I witnessed the agonizing death of three men who were hanged from a sycamore tree.

Their bodies were stiff as a 2 x 4
Their corpses were rigid and unmoving like a wooden plank cut in a certain size.

And their heads were tilted towards the dirt
Their heads were slanted or inclined downwards, probably due to the force of gravity or the position of the rope around their necks.

And it ain't been long since they been up there
It hasn't been much time since they were executed, probably suggesting that the singer was a witness to a recent legal or extrajudicial killing.

That their bodies turned cold hangin in the air
Their lifeless bodies became cold and temperature dropped while hanging in the air due to lack of blood flow caused by the noose around their necks.

They mighta froze before that noose got to them
It's possible that they died of hypothermia before the noose could suffocate them to death.

Old scratch has dealt us a dirty hand
The Devil has played a cruel or unfair trick on us.

He had the look of a saint but the greed of a man
The Devil appeared to be good or pure, yet, in reality, he was selfish, covetous or sinful.

and his face was worn and wrinkled like a leather book
His face was aged or weather-beaten, with lines or creases that resembled a book made of animal hide.

And if I put this revolver to my head
The singer is considering or contemplating suicide by using a firearm.

Will God turn against me instead
The singer wonders if God will forsake him or punish him for taking his own life.

of taking pity on a broken man?
Instead of showing mercy or compassion towards someone who is emotionally or mentally defeated?

Contributed by Dylan D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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