The Ballad of Ira Hayes

[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