| "Billy Don't Be a Hero" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Paper Lace | ||||
| from the album Paper Lace (US version) | ||||
| B-side | "Celia" | |||
| Released | April 1974 | |||
| Recorded | 1974 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length |
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| Label | Mercury | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Mitch Murray, Peter Callander | |||
| Producer(s) | Mitch Murray, Peter Callander | |||
| Paper Lace singles chronology | ||||
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| "Billy, Don't Be a Hero" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods | ||||
| from the album Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods | ||||
| B-side | "Don't Ever Look Back" | |||
| Released | April 1974 | |||
| Recorded | 1974 | |||
| Studio | ABC, Los Angeles, California | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 3:25 | |||
| Label | ABC | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Mitch Murray, Peter Callander | |||
| Producer(s) | Steve Barri | |||
| Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods singles chronology | ||||
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"Billy Don't Be a Hero" is a 1974 pop song that was first a UK hit for Paper Lace and then, some months later, a US hit for Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods. The song was written and composed by two British songwriters, Mitch Murray and Peter Callander.
Because the song was released in 1974, it was associated by some listeners with the Vietnam War, though the war to which it actually refers is never identified in the lyrics. It has been suggested that the drum pattern, references to a marching band leading soldiers in blue, and "riding out" (cavalry) refer to the American Civil War. For one of the band's performances on Top of the Pops they wore Union-style uniforms, as can be seen on YouTube and on 45 single record cover.
A young woman is distraught that her fiancé chooses to enlist with Army recruiters passing through the town, causing her to implore him:
Billy, don't be a hero, Don't be a fool with your life
Billy, don't be a hero, Come back and make me your wife
And as he started to go, she said, 'Keep your pretty head low'
Billy, don't be a hero, Come back to me.
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 heartbroken woman throws away the official letter notifying her of Billy's "heroic" death.