Billy Don't Be a Hero

"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.

"Billy Don't Be a Hero"
Single by Paper Lace
from the album Paper Lace (US version)
B-side"Celia"
ReleasedApril 1974
Recorded1974
GenrePop
Length
  • 3:59 (album version)
  • 3:45 (radio edit)
LabelMercury
Songwriter(s)Mitch Murray, Peter Callander
Producer(s)Mitch Murray, Peter Callander
Paper Lace singles chronology
"Billy Don't Be a Hero"
(1974)		 "The Night Chicago Died"
(1974)
"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"
ReleasedApril 1974
Recorded1974
GenrePop
Length3:25
LabelABC
Songwriter(s)Mitch Murray, Peter Callander
Producer(s)Steve Barri
Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods singles chronology
"Deeper and Deeper"
(1974)		 "Billy, Don't Be a Hero"
(1974)		 "Who Do You Think You Are"
(1974)

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, 'Billy keep your 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.

Chart performances

Paper Lace's version of "Billy Don't Be a Hero" reached No. 1 in the UK on 16 March 1974,[1] and did likewise in Australia, where it spent eight weeks at the top spot. The Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods version reached No. 1 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 on 15 June 1974, and was dubbed into French for Canada. The US version sold over three and a half million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in June 1974. The Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods version was a massive hit in Latin America and Japan as well, but it remained largely unknown elsewhere. Billboard ranked it as the No. 21 song for 1974.

Despite the song's popularity, it was poorly received, and it was voted No. 8 on Rolling Stone magazine's readers' poll of "10 Worst Songs of the 1970s".[2]

Paper Lace version

Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods version

Use in media

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".[18]

Dav Pilkey, creator of Captain Underpants, 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".[19]

See also

References
  1. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 298. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. "Readers' Poll: The 10 Worst Songs of the 1970s : #8 - Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods - 'Billy Don't Be A Hero'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  3. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 228. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  4. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Billy, Don't Be a Hero". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  5. Flavour of New Zealand, 8 June 1974
  6. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  7. "Cash Box Top 100 5/25/74". Tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  8. "National Top 100 Singles for 1974". Kent Music Report. 30 December 1974. Retrieved 11 January 2022 – via Imgur.
  9. "Australian-charts.com - Forum - Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts - 1980s (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  10. "Top 100 1974 - UK Music Charts". Uk-charts.top-source.info. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  11. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 6 July 1974. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  12. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 15 June 1974. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  13. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 75.
  14. "Cash Box Top 100 7/06/74". Tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on 9 January 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  15. Canada, Library and Archives (16 January 2018). "Image : RPM Weekly". Library and Archives Canada.
  16. "Top 100 Hits of 1974/Top 100 Songs of 1974". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  17. "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1974". Tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  18. "Massive Attack Blue Lines Lyrics". Google.com. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  19. "Behind the Pages: Super Diaper Baby". Pilkey.com. Dav Pilkey. Archived from the original on 15 June 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
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