The Ballad Of Boot Hill Lyrics

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 sparklin' 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 drinkin' Indian
Nor the Marine that went to war

There 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 did 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 drunk one mornin'
Alone in the land he fought to save
Two inches of water in a lonely ditch
Was a 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

Johnny Cash - The Essential Johnny Cash 1955-1983

Jun 1998

1. Hey Porter
2. Cry, Cry, Cry
3. Folsom Prison Blues
4. Luther Played The Boogie
5. Get Rhythm
6. I Walk The Line
7. Home Of The Blues
8. Give My Love To Rose
9. Rock Island Line
10. Doin' My Time
11. Big River
12. Ballad Of A Teenage Queen
13. Guess Things Happen That Way
14. The Ways Of A Woman In Love
15. Thanks A Lot
16. Oh, What A Dream
17. What Do I Care
18. All Over Again
19. I Still Miss Someone
20. I'd Just Be Fool Enough (To Fall)
21. Walking The Blues
22. Frankie's Man, Johnny
23. Tennesse Flat-Top Box
24. Sing It Pretty, Sue
25. Pickin' Time
26. Five Feet High And Rising
27. The Old Account
28. Peace In The Valley
29. Don't Take Your Guns To Town
30. The Ballad Of Boot Hill
31. The Rebel-Johnny Yuma
32. The Big Battle
33. When The Roses Bloom Again
34. The Ballad Of Ira Hayes
35. The Legend Of John Henry's Hammer
36. Dark As A Dungeon
37. The Long Black Veil
38. I Got Stripes
39. 25 Minutes To Go
40. The Wall
41. Busted
42. Bad News
43. Dirty Old Egg-Sucking Dog
44. Orange Blossom Special
45. Ring Of Fire
46. Understand Your Man
47. Jackson
48. Blistered
49. See Ruby Fall
50. Cisco Clifton's Fillin' Station
51. Daddy Sang Bass
52. Folsom Prison Blues (Live)
53. Cocaine Blues (Live)
54. San Quentin #2 (Live)
55. A Boy Named Sue (Live)
56. Wanted Man
57. Singin' In Vietnam Talkin' Blues
58. Man In Black
59. What Is Truth
60. Flesh And Blood
61. Sunday Morning Coming Down
62. Oney
63. One Piece At A Time
64. Hit The Road And Go
65. Rockabilly Blues (Texas 1955)
66. I Will Rock And Roll With You
67. No Expectations
68. Riders In The Sky
69. Bull Rider
70. Highway Patrolman
71. After The Ball
72. Without Love
73. The Last Time
74. I'm Gonna Sit On The Porch And Pick On My Old Guitar