Learn to play "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" on your guitar with our chord guide. This page provides everything you need to perform this song on the guitar, including lyrics integrated with chords, chord diagrams, and a key transposer to match your vocal range.
A D Ira Hayes, Ira Hayes. Chorus: A Call him drunken Ira Hayes, D He won't answer anymore; E Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian, A Nor the marine that went to war. A Gather 'round me, people. D There's a story I would tell E A 'bout a brave young Indian you should remember well, D from the land of the Pima Indians, A proud and nobel band, E A Who farmed the Phoenix Valley in Arizona land. Down the ditches for a thousand years The water grew Ira's peoples' crops Until the white man stole the 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 Chorus 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 Chorus 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 home, no chance At home nobody cared what Ira'd done And when the Indians dance Chorus Then Ira started drinking 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 morning Alone in the land he fought to save Two inches of water in a lonely ditch Was a grave for Ira Hayes Chorus 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 | TransposeReset Font SizeReset Guitar Chord DiagramsA D E Here you can see detailed diagrams for each guitar chord used in the song. Utilize our key transposer to adjust the chords to a key that better fits your singing range. Simply select the desired key, and the chords throughout this page will update automatically, ensuring you can play and sing comfortably. |
If you are also interested in learning how to play "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" by Johnny Cash.