The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter is the third album by Scottish psychedelic folk group the Incredible String Band (ISB), and was released in March 1968 on Elektra Records (see 1968 in music).

Lyrically, the compositions reflected upon past themes of life, mythology, and religious properties in a free musical structure, esotericism becoming a consistent anchor in their recordings.

Its centrepiece is Mike Heron's "A Very Cellular Song", a 13-minute reflection on life, love, and amoebas, whose complex structure incorporates a Bahamian spiritual ("I Bid You Goodnight", originally recorded by the Pinder Family[7][8]).

The album's layered production style employs multitrack recording techniques[9] and a wide array of instruments from across the world, including sitar, gimbri, shenai, oud, harpsichord, panpipes and kazoo.

"[6] Owing largely to the band gaining much airplay from famous DJ John Peel,[10] The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter was a major commercial success in the UK, staying in the charts for 21 weeks[3] with a peak of number 5.

[18] In its entry in Robert Dimery's book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Max Reinhardt describes the album as "a potent seed of the current 'world music' movement", adding: "[The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter] revealed a sustained grandeur of vision, lyrics, and musicality that the group were never to approach again … Each track is closer to a suite than a song, as Celtic folk, rock 'n' roll, gospel, plainsong harmonies, near qwaali moments, and North African and Indian sonics all drift effortlessly before the ears.