The Ballad of Ira Hayes

PETER LAFARGE

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

Curiosità sulla canzone The Ballad of Ira Hayes di Johnny Cash

In quali album è stata rilasciata la canzone “The Ballad of Ira Hayes” di Johnny Cash?
Johnny Cash ha rilasciato la canzone negli album “Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian” nel 1964, “Columbia Records 1956-1986” nel 1987, “The Essential Johnny Cash (1992)” nel 1992, “At Madison Square Garden” nel 2002, “Man in Black: The Very Best of Johnny Cash ” nel 2002, “The Essential Johnny Cash” nel 2002, “Life” nel 2004, “The Legendary Johnny Cash” nel 2005, “The Legend of Johnny Cash Vol. II” nel 2006, e “Bear’s Sonic Journals: Live at The Carousel Ballroom, 4/24/1968” nel 2021.
Chi ha composto la canzone “The Ballad of Ira Hayes” di di Johnny Cash?
La canzone “The Ballad of Ira Hayes” di di Johnny Cash è stata composta da PETER LAFARGE.

Canzoni più popolari di Johnny Cash

Altri artisti di Folk