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Billy, Don't Be a Hero Lyrics
The marching band came down along Main Street
The soldier blues fell in behind
I looked across and there I saw Billy
Waiting to go and join the line
And with her head upon his shoulder
His young and lovely fiancee
From where I stood I saw she was crying
And through her tears I heard her say
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 soldier blues were trapped on a hillside
The battle raging all around
The sergeant cried, "We've got to hang on, boys!
We've got to hold this piece of ground"
I need a volunteer to ride up
And bring us back some extra men
And Billy's hand was up in a moment
Forgetting all the words she said
She said
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
I heard his fiancee got a letter
That told how Billy died that day
The letter said that he was a hero
She should be proud he died that way
I heard she threw that letter away
The soldier blues fell in behind
I looked across and there I saw Billy
Waiting to go and join the line
His young and lovely fiancee
From where I stood I saw she was crying
And through her tears I heard her say
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 battle raging all around
The sergeant cried, "We've got to hang on, boys!
We've got to hold this piece of ground"
I need a volunteer to ride up
And bring us back some extra men
And Billy's hand was up in a moment
Forgetting all the words she said
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
That told how Billy died that day
The letter said that he was a hero
She should be proud he died that way
I heard she threw that letter away
Song Info
Submitted by
songmeanings On Feb 06, 2012
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Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
One of my all-time favorite hits from my childhood back in 1975.
I used to think this was a Viet Nam story since that was the current war occurring when the song was written and recorded but after thinking about it... The only "soldier blues" I ever heard about were those fighting for the North during the American "Civil War" (1860-1865). Also, "I need a volunteer to ride out" (or "up") implies the use of a horse, therefore, I've concluded the setting for this one is more than a century earlier than the song itself. Also, the notion of a band marching along Main Street to encourage people to join in the effort also makes more sense from an 1860s perspective as opposed to the 1960s and '70s.
And to top it off, before posting these words, I searched online in case there was some other kind of "solidier blues" of which I wasn't aware - and I found this link:
https://www.lilesnet.com/patrioticmusic/billy.htm