This version was performed by Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird, and was released as the first single from the film's accompanying soundtrack album.

"The Hanging Tree" was written by Suzanne Collins and originally appeared in her novel Mockingjay (2010); Jeremiah Fraites and Wesley Schultz from American indie folk band the Lumineers composed the track while production was handled by James Newton Howard.

[2] Lawrence later contacted both Schultz and Fraites via text message that the melody was chosen for the film, saying, "It worked out great in the movie.

[3][4] In preparation, Francis sent Jennifer Lawrence to a vocal coach, in an effort to provide the actress with confidence;[5] she recorded the scene in front of 150 crew members.

[4] "The Hanging Tree" was released as part of the film's score album on November 24, 2014;[6] it is accompanied by a B-side titled "The Mockingjay".

Music, Gazzo commented that despite the track's dark tonality, he envisioned the song "uplifting an entire group of people to rise up.

"The Hanging Tree" received comparisons to other songs such as "Tom Dooley",[19] Billie Holiday's 1939 ballad "Strange Fruit" (which also includes references to hanging and trees),[16] and the civil rights protest song "We Shall Overcome"[16] as well as a passage from Frederick Douglass's memoir My Bondage and My Freedom (1855) about African-American spirituals.

[24] According to Haymitch Abernathy, the song was the first memory Peeta associated with Katniss that did not trigger a "mental breakdown" after the Capitol propagandized him.

She reminds herself of the song once more after Peeta tells her to kill him, in an effort to prevent himself from harming members of their rescue team due to how the Capitol "reprogrammed" him.

[16] In the prequel novel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2020), the song is revealed to have been penned by Lucy Gray Baird, the first Hunger Games victor from District 12.

Lucy Gray witnesses the execution of Arlo Chance at a hanging tree after he is accused of killing two Peacekeepers and a coal mine boss.

[27] Stephanie Merry from The Washington Post praised Lawrence's vocal delivery, commenting that her "raspy voice [matches] the dark narrative and Appalachian style of the music".

"The Hanging Tree" became the highest-charting song from The Hunger Games franchise on the chart, surpassing "Eyes Open" by Taylor Swift, which peaked at number 19.

[35] James Newton Howard performed with Edita Malovčić as a substitute for Lawrence;[35] it was conducted by Keith Lockhart of the Boston Pops Orchestra.

[39] Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (Original Motion Picture Score).