The Ballad of Ira Hayes Lyrics & Tabs by Hazel Dickens
The Ballad of Ira Hayes
guitar chords lyrics
call him drunken ira hayes,
he won't answer any more;
not the whiskey drinkin' indian,
not the marine who went to war.:
gather 'round me people,
there's a story i would 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.:
down their ditches for a thousand years -
the waters grew ira's people's crops,
till the white man stole their water rights -
down their ditches for a thousand years -
the waters grew ira's people's crops,
till the white man stole their water rights -
and their sparklin' water stopped.
now ira's folks grew hungry -
and their land grew crops of weeds.
when war came ira volunteered -
and forgot the white man's greed.:
call him drunken ira hayes,
he won't answer any more;
not the whiskey drinkin' indian,
not the marine who went to war.:
well, they battle up iwo jima hill -
two hundred and fifty men,
but only twenty seven lived
to walk back down again;
when the fight was over -
and old glory raised,
among the men who held it high
was the indian ira hayes.:
call him drunken ira hayes,
he won't answer any more;
not the whiskey drinkin' indian,
not the marine who went to war.:
ira hayes 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 water, no home, no chance;
at home nobody cared what ira had done -
and when do the indians dance?:
call him drunken ira hayes,
he won't answer any more;
not the whiskey drinkin' indian,
not the marine who went to war.:
then ira started drinkin' hard,
jail was often his home;
they let him raise the flag and lower it,
as you would 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.:
call him drunken ira hayes,
he won't answer any more;
not the whiskey drinkin' indian,
not the marine who went to war.:
yeah! call him drunken ira hayes,
but his land is just as dry,
and the ghost is lying thirsty
in the ditch where ira died.
