The Ballad of Ira Hayes

Ira Hayes Ira Hayes Call him drunken Ira Hayes He won't answer anymore Not the whiskey drinking Indian Or the marine that went to war Gather 'round me people There's a story I would tell 'Bout a brave young Indian You should remember well From the land of the Pima Indian A proud and noble band Who farmed the Phoenix Valley In Arizona land Down the ditches a thousand years The waters grew Ira's peoples' crops 'Til the white man stole their water rights And the sparkling water stopped Now, Ira's folks were 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 anymore Not the whiskey drinking Indian Or the marine that went to war There they battled up Iwo Jima hill Two hundred and fifty men But only twenty-seven lived To walk back down again And 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 anymore Not the whiskey drinking Indian Or the marine that went to war Ira Hayes returned a hero Celebrated through 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'd done And when did the Indians dance Call him drunken Ira Hayes He won't answer anymore Not the whiskey drinking Indian Or the marine that went to war Then Ira started drinking hard Jail was often his home They let him raise the flag and lower it Like you'd throw a dog a bone He died drunk early one morning Alone in the land he fought to save Two inches of water and a lonely ditch Was a grave for Ira Hayes Call him drunken Ira Hayes He won't answer anymore Not the whiskey drinking Indian Or the marine that went to war Yeah, call him drunken Ira Hayes But his land is just as dry And his ghost is lying thirsty In the ditch where Ira died --- The Ballad of Ira Hayes - Johnny Cash