X-Nico

3 unusual facts about Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian


Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian

The first song, "As Long as the Grass Shall Grow", concerns the loss of Seneca nation land in Pennsylvania due to the construction of the Kinzua Dam in the early 1960s.

Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian is a concept album and twentieth album released by country singer Johnny Cash in 1964 on Columbia Records.

The one single from Bitter Tears that was released was "The Ballad of Ira Hayes", which reached No. 3 on the Country charts; the song tells the story of Ira Hayes, a young Marine of Pima descent who participated in the flag raising on Iwo Jima and became an instant celebrity, only to die drunk and in poverty on the Gila River Reservation where he was born.


Apache tears

American singer songwriter Johnny Cash wrote a song entitled "Apache Tears" for his 1964 album Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian.

Kinzua Dam

In 1964, the American country singer Johnny Cash recorded the song "As Long as the Grass Shall Grow" (composed by the Native American folk singer Peter La Farge) about the Senecas' plight; the Seneca nation's owned-and-operated radio station, WGWE, plays the song at least once a week in remembrance, as does WPIG, the local country music station.


see also