In the dust of Arizona Where the rivers used to run Lived a quiet Pima soldier Born beneath the blazing sun He learned the ways of struggle In a land that gave so few A stranger in his homeland But his heart was proud and true Oh, Ira Hayes Your tears still fall For the land that turned Its back on it all You raised the flag But they raised the lies And left you lonely Under empty skies They sent him off to battle Far across the ocean wide Where the sands of Iwo Jima ran red With those who died He stood there with his brothers As the stars and stripes were raised But the war inside was waiting When he came back home that day Oh, Ira Hayes Your tears still fall For the land that turned Its back on it all You raised the flag But they raised the lies And left you lonely Under empty skies What good is a photograph When the hunger doesn't fade? What good is a hero's name If the debts are never paid? He walked the streets forgotten Though he gave his soul for peace While the rivers of his people saw Their lifeblood slowly cease Oh, Ira Hayes Your tears still fall For the land that turned Its back on it all You raised the flag But they raised the lies And left you lonely Under empty skies The years went by in silence With a bottle in his hand Drowning out the memories Of that foreign, bloody sand He cried for all the Pimas For the treaties they betrayed For a dream that once united Now a shadow that decayed Oh, Ira Hayes Your tears still fall For the land that turned Its back on it all You raised the flag But they raised the lies And left you lonely under empty skies He wasn't just a soldier; He was more than what they see A symbol of the struggle For a people to be free But history's often written By the ones who hold the pen And Ira's truth was buried Like the rivers in the sand Oh, Ira Hayes Your tears still fall For the land that turned Its back on it all You raised the flag But they raised the lies And left you lonely under empty skies On a cold and starless evening They found him lying still A casualty of battles fought That broke a hero's will But his spirit keeps on living Where the winds of justice blow In the hearts of those who struggle For the dignity they're owed Oh, Ira Hayes Your tears still fall For the land that turned Its back on it all You raised the flag But they raised the lies And left you lonely Under empty skies Now the desert speaks your story And the mountains call your name A warrior and a witness To a nation's lasting shame Ira, we remember Though the years Have dulled the pain The tears of Ira Hayes still Fall like desert rain