Johnny Cash - The Ballad of Ira Hayes (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968) Lyrics

Lyrics The Ballad of Ira Hayes (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968) - Johnny Cash



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



Writer(s): Peter Lafarge


Johnny Cash - Bear's Sonic Journals: Live at The Carousel Ballroom, 4/24/1968

1 Cocaine Blues (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
2 The Long Black Veil (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
3 Orange Blossom Special (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
4 I'm Going To Memphis (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
5 The Ballad of Ira Hayes (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
6 Rock Island Line (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
7 Guess Things Happen That Way (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
8 One Too Many Mornings (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
9 Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
10 Give My Love to Rose (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
11 Green, Green Grass of Home (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
12 Old Apache Squaw (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
13 Lorena (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
14 Forty Shades of Green (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
15 Bad News (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
16 Jackson (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
17 Tall Lover Man (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
18 June's Song Introduction (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
19 Wildwood Flower (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
20 Foggy Mountain Top (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
21 This Land Is Your Land (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
22 Wabash Cannonball (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
23 Worried Man Blues (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
24 Long Legged Guitar Pickin' Man (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
25 Ring of Fire (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
26 Big River (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
27 Don't Take Your Guns to Town (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)
28 I Walk the Line (Bear's Sonic Journals: Live At The Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968)




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