Blinding Flashes
Hero's Fading Light: Ira Hayes' Poignant Journey
Lyrics
The lifeless body of hero lay in silence
The lifeless body of a hero lies in silence.
Face down in the dirt of the land that his fathers sewed
Face down in the dirt of the land that his fathers cultivated.
So unceremonious and callous
Unceremonious and callous circumstances surround his death.
In a ditch of a shed on a dusty desert road
In a ditch of a shed on a dusty desert road.
Ira spoke the proud tongue of the Pima
Ira spoke the proud tongue of the Pima.
Yet he stood to fight when the bombs fell on his shores.
He stood to fight when bombs fell on his shores.
Cut his teeth on the isle of Iwo Jima
He gained experience on the isle of Iwo Jima.
And the fame that he gained only filled him with remorse
The fame he gained filled him with remorse.
He'd say the lights and flashes all are just a show
Lights and flashes are just a show according to him.
He'd say the real ones don't live to see another
Real heroes may not live to see another day.
And when the day is done you'll see the afterglow
After the day is done, there is an afterglow.
Until it dulls and fades away
The afterglow fades away.
Survivor's guilt in the spotlight of the nation
Survivor's guilt in the nation's spotlight can lead to drinking.
would quickly drive the most pious men to drink
Papers citing every altercation can make one an outcast on a sinking raft.
And when the papers cite your every altercation
Being in the spotlight of the nation can be challenging.
You're an outcast on raft that's built to sink
An outcast on a raft built to sink due to constant scrutiny.
He'd say the lights and flashes all are just a show
Lights and flashes are just a show according to him (repeated).
He'd say the real ones don't live to see another
Real heroes may not live to see another day (repeated).
And when the day is done you'll see the afterglow
After the day is done, there is an afterglow (repeated).
Until it dulls
Until the afterglow dulls and fades away.
And he was outcast
He became an outcast.
He was defamed
He was defamed.
He was hated, he was loved, he was a symbol
He was both hated and loved, a symbol.
He was a hero to his kind, he was a leader to the blind
A hero to his kind, a leader to the blind.
And he was praised
He was praised.
He was Ira Hayes
He was Ira Hayes.
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