Reluctant pop star Jennifer Lawrence hits the charts with ‘The Hanging Tree’

You can’t contain the cultural reach of The Hunger Games. After dominating bestseller lists and box office charts, the phenomenon is infiltrating the music world. A song from The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I, with vocals by Jennifer Lawrence, has landed on the singles charts in Australia (at number 12) and the UK (14). According to Billboard, the US charts may follow.

The Hanging Tree has decidedly dark themes. Sample lyric: “Are you, are you coming to the tree where they strung up a man they say murdered three?” It’s a repetitive folk song that begins quietly with just Lawrence singing a capella, but it builds “Bolero”-style, with instruments joining in and finally a whole chorus of singers.

The lyrics showed up in the book, by Suzanne Collins, and members of the indie folk band the Lumineers collaborated on the track.

The song could follow the path of Cups, which became a surprise hit after Anna Kendrick sang it in Pitch Perfect. It, too, has a throwback feel. (It’s based on a 1931 song.) And it wouldn’t be the first time an actress transformed into a pop star, but Lawrence — per usual — doesn’t follow the typical route. She may be the most reluctant singer making a run for the pop charts. Try to imagine Iggy Azalea weeping every time she has to record a song. That’s what happened with Lawrence, according to an interview with David Letterman.

“I do not like singing in front of other people. That’s like my biggest fear,” the actress said. “I cried on set that day ... It was awful.”

When Letterman asked her what song she sang in the movie, she replied: “The Hanging Tree, which is where I felt like going the morning I showed up.”

Self-deprecation aside, Lawrence sounds good on the track with her raspy voice matching the dark narrative and Appalachian style of the music.