LyricsLyrics

The Ballad Of Ira Hayes lyrics

 

Song information

Artist: Johnny Cash
Album: Bitter Tears (Ballads Of The American Indian)

 

Lyrics

Ira hayes
Ira hayes

Chorus:
Call him drunken ira hayes
He won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinkin' indian
Nor the marine that 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 indian
A proud and noble band
Who farmed the phoenix valley in arizona land

Down the ditches for a thousand years
The water grew ira's peoples' crops
'Till the white man stole the water rights
And the sparklin' 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

Chorus:
Call him drunken ira hayes
He won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinkin' indian
Nor the marine that went to war

There they battled up iwo jima's hill
Two hundred and fifty men
But only twenty-seven lived to walk back down again

And when the fight was over
And when old glory raised
Among 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 drinkin' indian
Nor the marine that went to war

Ira 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 crops, no chance
At home nobody cared what ira'd done
And when did the indians dance

Chorus:
Call him drunken ira hayes
He won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinkin' indian
Nor the marine that went to war

Then ira started drinkin' hard;
Jail was often his home
They'd let him raise the flag and lower it
Like you'd throw a dog a bone!

He died drunk one mornin'
Alone in the land he fought to save
Two inches of water in a lonely ditch
Was a grave for ira hayes

Chorus:
Call him drunken ira hayes
He won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinkin' indian
Nor the marine that went to war

Yeah, call him drunken ira hayes
But his land is just as dry
And his ghost is lyin' thirsty
In the ditch where ira died

[from http://lyrics.doheth.co.uk]

 

"Bitter Tears (Ballads Of The American Indian)" album track list

 




Most popular songs

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!
Killing in the Name (Rage Against the Machine)
Fight For This Love (Cheryl Cole)
Hallelujah (Alexandra Burke)
Hot N Cold (Katy Perry)
I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (Sandi Thom)
Best Of You (Foo Fighters)
Rockstar (Nickelback)
Mercy (Duffy)
Chasing Cars (Snow Patrol)

Take Back the City (Snow Patrol)
Viva La Vida (Coldplay)
Chasing Pavements (Adele)
Blue Da Ba Dee (Eiffel 65)
Ruby (Kaiser Chiefs)
I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor)
Dream Catch Me (Newton Faulkner)
Bleeding Love (Leona Lewis)
Hey There Delilah (Plain White T's)
I Kissed a Girl (Katy Perry)

The doheth network

CodeLair tutorials
The Funny Pages
Simpsons episode guide
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Pokedex
Cartoon images

Infused Design

The Ballad Of Ira Hayes lyrics are copyright Johnny Cash and/or their label or other authors.