Call him drunken Ira Hayes, he won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinking Indian nor the marine that went to war
Gather round me people, there's a story I would tell
About a brave young Indian that we should remember well
From the tribe of the Pima Indian, a proud and noble band
Who farmed the Phoenix Valley, in Arizona land
Down their ditches for a thousand years the waters grew Ira's people's crops
Till the white man stole their water rights and their sparkling water stopped
Now Ira's folks were hungry and their land grew crops and 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 nor the marine that went to war
There they battled up Iwo Jima's Hill, two hundred and fifty men
But only 27 lived, to fight back down again
And when that fight was over, and when old glory raised
Among the men to hold it high was the Indian Ira Hayes
Call him drunken Ira Hayes, he won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinking Indian nor 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 crops, no chance
At home nobody cared what Ira had done and when did the Indians dance
Ira started drinking hard, jail was often his home
There they'd let him raise the flag and lower it like you would throw a dog a bone
He died drunk early one morning alone, in the land he'd 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 drinking 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 laying thirsty, in the ditch where Ira died