Ballad of Ira Hayes - chords, tab and comments


I leave you a link here, instead of summing up this human tragedy: IRA HAYES.
Peter LaFarge, himself of indian origin, died in '64 - only a few years after he wrote this song. It's been made famous by Buffy Saint-Marie, Bob Dylan and especially by Johnny Cash - who recorded several of LaFarge songs when he cut the album "Bitter Tears" in 1964. Johnny himself pondered about having cherokee ancestors, but sorry Johnny: your origin was european, mainly irish.
G               G7               C
gather round me people there's a story I would tell
D7                         G
bout a brave young Indian you should remember well
G                         G7        C
from the land of the Pima indians a proud and noble band
     G        G/F#      Em        A7  D7  G
who farmed the Phoenix Valley in Arizona land

G                    G7              C
call him drunken Ira Hayes he won't answer anymore
         D7                              G
not the whiskey drinking Indian nor the marine that went to war
Play the "Heroes Salute" to start and end with, and take your bloody caps off.
G major
G
G 7th
G7
C masjor
C
D 7th
D7
G major F sharp bass
G/F#
E minor
Em
A 7th
A7
Peter La Farge