The Ballad of Ira Hayes-Kris Kristofferson/Gillian Welch/David Rawlings

[ti:The Ballad of Ira Hayes] [ar:Kris Kristofferson] [al:The Ballad of Ira Hayes] [by:] [offset:0] [00:00.00]The Ballad of Ira Hayes - Kris Kristofferson/Gillian Welch/David Rawlings [00:05.23]Ira Hayes [00:06.06] [00:08.86]Call him drunken Ira Hayes [00:10.81] [00:11.58]He won't answer anymore [00:13.51] [00:14.97]Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian [00:16.93] [00:17.62]Nor the Marine that went to war [00:19.87] [00:23.59]Gather round me people there's a story I would tell [00:27.50] [00:29.81]About a brave young Indian you should remember well [00:33.90] [00:35.50]From the land of the Pima Indian [00:37.43] [00:38.53]A proud and noble band [00:40.09] [00:42.07]Who farmed the Phoenix valley in Arizona land [00:45.63] [00:48.26]Down the ditches for a thousand years [00:50.48] [00:51.07]The water grew Ira's peoples' crops [00:52.90] [00:53.91]'Till the white man stole the water rights [00:55.93] [00:56.92]And the sparklin' water stopped [00:58.59] [01:00.59]Now Ira's folks were hungry [01:02.21] [01:02.99]And their land grew crops of weeds [01:05.12] [01:06.13]When war came Ira volunteered [01:08.34] [01:09.18]And forgot the white man's greed [01:10.87] [01:13.46]Call him drunken Ira Hayes [01:15.76] [01:16.46]He won't answer anymore [01:18.51] [01:19.93]Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian [01:22.67]Nor the Marine that went to war [01:25.03] [01:27.82]There they battled up Iwo Jima's hill [01:29.98] [01:30.87]Two hundred and fifty men [01:32.45] [01:33.73]But only twenty-seven lived to walk back down again [01:38.91] [01:41.10]And when the fight was over [01:42.62] [01:43.37]And when Old Glory raised [01:44.80] [01:46.88]Among the men who held it high [01:49.10] [01:49.86]Was the Indian Ira Hayes [01:51.29] [01:53.86]Call him drunken Ira Hayes [01:56.13] [01:57.00]He won't answer anymore [01:59.00] [02:00.68]Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian [02:03.32]Nor the Marine that went to war [02:05.38] [02:07.79]Ira returned a hero [02:09.33] [02:10.66]Celebrated through the land [02:12.13] [02:13.15]He was wined and speeched and honored; [02:15.79] [02:16.57]Everybody shook his hand [02:18.02] [02:19.15]But he was just a Pima Indian [02:20.77] [02:22.33]No water no crops no chance [02:24.54] [02:25.75]At home nobody cared what Ira'd done [02:27.96] [02:29.22]And when did the Indians dance [02:30.69] [02:32.86]Call him drunken Ira Hayes [02:35.24] [02:36.02]He won't answer anymore [02:37.91] [02:39.47]Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian [02:41.58] [02:42.19]Nor the Marine that went to war [02:44.44] [02:47.34]Then Ira started drinkin' hard; [02:49.40] [02:50.92]Jail was often his home [02:52.40] [02:53.76]They'd let him raise the flag and lower it [02:56.05] [02:56.64]Like you'd throw a dog a bone [02:58.36] [03:00.15]He died drunk one mornin' [03:01.72] [03:02.51]Alone in the land he fought to save [03:04.91] [03:05.99]Two inches of water in a lonely ditch [03:08.59] [03:09.26]Was a grave for Ira Hayes [03:10.92] [03:13.41]Call him drunken Ira Hayes [03:15.80] [03:16.50]He won't answer anymore [03:18.64] [03:20.03]Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian [03:22.86]Nor the Marine that went to war [03:25.09] [03:27.27]Yeah call him drunken Ira Hayes [03:29.02] [03:29.62]But his land is just as dry [03:31.26] [03:32.63]And his ghost is lyin' thirsty [03:34.38] [03:35.81]In the ditch where Ira died