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
