| "Billy Don't Be a Hero" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Paper Lace | ||||
| from the album Paper Lace | ||||
| B-side | "Celia" | |||
| Released | 1974 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Genre | Pop protest song | |||
| Length | 3:59 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Writer(s) | Mitch Murray, Peter Callander | |||
| Paper Lace singles chronology | ||||
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"Billy Don't Be A Hero" is a 1974 anti-war pop song by Paper Lace and was also recorded by Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods. It was written by Mitch Murray and Peter Callander.
Because the song was released in 1974, it is often associated with the Vietnam War, though it actually refers to the American Civil War as evidenced by the "soldier blues" (the Union Forces) in the lyrics and on the cover of the single album. Also, a 1974 music video shows the band performing in Union uniforms. A young woman is distraught that her fiancé chooses to leave the area with an Army contingent passing through the town and go with them to fight. She laments,
The song goes on to describe how Billy is killed in action in a pitched battle after volunteering to ride out and seek reinforcements. In the end, the woman throws away the regret letter notifying her of Billy's "heroic" death.
Paper Lace's version of "Billy Don't Be a Hero" hit number one on the UK singles chart on March 16 1974. The band made plans to release it in America but the song was covered and released by Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods. Their version was rushed out before Paper Lace could release and it hit number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on June 15 and number 1 in Canada on July 7. Subsequently although Paper Lace had the chart-topper in the UK, its version stalled at #96 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Bo Donaldson version failed to chart at all in the UK though it did reach
The song features in the film "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" (1993).
In the first episode of Friends, Ross is sad because it has been so long since he last picked up a woman, saying "Do the words 'Billy, Don't Be a Hero' mean anything to you people?"
Massive Attack's 1991 track "Blue Lines" (from the album of the same name) features the lyrics "take a walk, Billy, don't be a hero".
In Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, the song is briefly heard during a montage in a disco cover by Dewey Cox (John C. Reilly) performing on rollerblades during "The Dewey Cox Show". A much longer cut of this scene can be seen in the director's cut, and the whole performance was included in the extras for the 2-Disc editions.
In the Powerpuff Girls the leader of the Gang Green Gang says to another member, Billy, "Billy, don't be a hero!"
In The Justice Friends (Cartoon Network, 1996) Major Glory says "Billy don't be a hero!" to William, Valhallen's pet goat, when it jumps to save Krunk from the attack of Valhallen's living clothes.
In an episode of ALF, Alf uses the line "Willie don't be a hero, don't be a fool with your life" referring to the head of the household, Wille Tanner, after Willie comes up with a bad idea.
The Doug Anthony Allstars performed a comedic cover of this song, featuring the altered line, "Where did Billy's head go?" in place of "Keep your pretty head low".
Dav Pilkey named the hero of The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby Billy solely to make possible a passing homage to Billy Don't Be a Hero.[1]
| Preceded by "Jealous Mind" by Alvin Stardust |
UK Singles Chart number-one single (Paper Lace version) March 16, 1974 for three weeks |
Succeeded by "Seasons in the Sun" by Terry Jacks |
| Preceded by "Band on the Run" by Paul McCartney and Wings |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single (Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods version) June 15, 1974 |
Succeeded by "Sundown" by Gordon Lightfoot |