Hangman- J. Mason (TN) 1947 R. Mason
[My abbreviated title. From R. Mason: Southern Folklore Quarterly 11 (1947) pp.129-130. I do not have the book, so a verse might be missing. Some of his notes follow.
Published in Mason, Folk Songs and Folk Tales of Cannon County, Tennessee (1939) p. 20 is a version by Mrs. W. F. Mason, of Stones River, Tennessee. I don't have the book-- it may be the same version or from another relative.
R. Matteson 2015]
Her father, mother, brother, and sisters refuse to pay ransom, but her lover is eager to pay any price necessary to save her.
HANGMAN, HANGMAN, HOLD YOUR ROPE - Sung by Mrs. Jennie Mason, Cannon County, Tennessee. Collected by Robert Leslie Mason.
"Hangman, hangman, hold your rope,
Hold your rope for awhile;
I think I see my mother a-coming,
She's come for many a mile.
"Mother, O Mother, have you brought me gold,
Gold for to set me free?
Or have you come to see me hanged,
Hanged on the gallows tree?"
"No, I've not come to bring ye gold,
Gold for to set ye free,
But I have come to see ye hanged,
Hanged on the gallows tree."
"Hangman, hangman, hold your rope,
Hold your rope for awhile;
I think I see my father a-coming,
He's rode for many a mile."
"Father, O Father, have you brought me gold,
Gold for to set me free?
Or have you come to see me hanged,
Hanged on the gallows tree?"
"No, I've not come to bring ye gold,
Gold for to set ye free,
But I have come to see ye hanged,
Hanged on the gallows tree."
"Hangman, hangman, hold your rope,
Hold your rope for awhile;
I think I see my sweetheart coming,
He's run for many a mile.
"O my lover, have your brought me gold,
Gold for to set me free?
Or have you come to see me hanged,
Hanged on the gallows tree?"
"Oh yes, my love, I have brought ye gold,
Gold for to set ye free;
I have not come to see ye hanged,
Hanged on the gallows tree?"