The Ballad of Ira Hayes

Lyrics

[Verse 1] Gather round you people And a story I will tell About a brave young Indian You should remember well From the tribe of Pima Indians A proud and a peaceful band They farmed the Phoenix Valley In Arizona land Down their ditches for a thousand years The sparkling water rushed Till the white man stole their water rights And the running water hushed Now Ira's folks were hungry And their farm were crops of weeds But when war came he volunteered And forgot the white man's greed [Chorus] Call him Drunken Ira Hayes, he won't answer anymore Not the whiskey-drinking Indian or the marine who went to war Yes, call him Drunken Ira Hayes, he won't answer anymore Not the whiskey-drinking Indian or the marine who went to war [Verse 2] They started up Iwo Jima Hill 250 men But only 27 lived To walk back down that hill again And when the fight was over And Old Glory raised One of the men who held it high Was the Indian Ira Hayes [Chorus] Call him Drunken Ira Hayes, he won't answer anymore Not the whiskey-drinking Indian or the marine who went to war Call him Drunken Ira Hayes, he won't answer anymore Not the whiskey-drinking Indian or the marine who went to war [Verse 3] Now Ira returned a hero Celebrated throughout the land He was wined and speeched and honored Everybody shook his hand But he was just a Pima Indian No money, no crops, no chance And at home nobody cared what Ira had done And the wind did the Indian's dance [Chorus] Call him Drunken Ira Hayes, he won't answer anymore Not the whiskey-drinking Indian or the marine who went to war Call him Drunken Ira Hayes, he won't answer anymore Not the whiskey-drinking Indian or the marine who went to war [Verse 4] And Ira started drinking hard Jail was often his home They let him raise the flag there And lower it like you'd throw a dog a bone He died drunk early one morning Alone in the land he'd fought to save Two inches of water in a lonely ditch Was the grave for Ira Hayes [Chorus] Call him Drunken Ira Hayes, he won't answer anymore Not the whiskey-drinking Indian or the marine who went to war Call him Drunken Ira Hayes, he won't answer anymore Not the whiskey-drinking Indian or the marine who went to war [Verse 5] Yes, call him, Drunken Ira Hayes But his land is still as dry And his ghost is lying thirsty In the ditch where Ira died [Chorus] Call him Drunken Ira Hayes, he won't answer anymore Not the whiskey-drinking Indian or the marine who went to war Call him Drunken Ira Hayes, he won't answer anymore Not the whiskey-drinking Indian or the marine who went to war