The Ballad of Ira Hayes

Lyrics

[Verse 1] Gather 'round me people A story, I will tell About a brave young Indian You should remember well From the land of the Pima Indians A proud and noble band Who farmed the Phoenix Valley In Arizona land [Verse 2] Down the ditches of a thousand years The waters grew their crops Till the white man stole their water rights And the sparkling water stopped Then, Ira's folks grew hungry Their land grew crops of weeds When the war came, he volunteered Forgot the white man's greed [Chorus] Oh, call him drunken Ira Hayes He can't hear you anymore Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian Or the Marine who went to war [Verse 3] They battled up Iwo Jima hill A hundred and fifty men But only twenty seven lived To walk back down again When the fight was all over Old Glory was raised Among the men who held it high Was an Indian, Ira Hayes [Verse 4] Ira Hayes returned a hero Celebrated through the land He was wined, speeched, and honored Everybody shook his hand He was just a Pima Indian No water, crop, no chance At home, they forgot what he had done And when do the Indians dance? [Chorus] Oh, call him drunken Ira Hayes He can't hear you anymore Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian Or the Marine who went to war [Verse 5] Then Ira started drinkin' hard Jail, often his home They let him raise and lower the flag Like you'd throw a dog a bone He got drunk alone one morning In a land he'd fought to save Two inches of water in a lonely ditch Was the grave of Ira Hayes [Bridge] Call him drunken Ira Hayes But his land is just as dry And his ghost is lying thirsty In the ditch where Ira died [Chorus] Oh, call him drunken Ira Hayes He can't hear you anymore Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian Or the Marine who went to war Oh, call him drunken Ira Hayes But his land is just as dry And his ghost is lying thirsty In the ditch where Ira died