The Ballad of Ira Hayes

About The Ballad of Ira Hayes

"The Ballad of Ira Hayes" is a song written by folk singer Peter La Farge. Its words tell the story of Ira Hayes, one of the six Marines who became famous for having raised the flag on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima of World War II. The ballad Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.

Year:

1992

3:35

92 Views

Playlists:

#1

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Ira Hayes, 
Ira Hayes

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 sparkin' 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 drunkin' Ira Hayes
He won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian 
Nor the Marine that went to war

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

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 do the Indians dance

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 early drunk one mornin'
Alone in the land he 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 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

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Peter La Farge

Peter La Farge (born Oliver Albee La Farge, April 30, 1931 - October 27, 1965) was a New York-based folksinger and songwriter of the 1950s and 1960s. He is known best for his affiliations with Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash. more »

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