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Billy's Bones Lyrics
Billy ran around with the rare old crew
And he knew an Arsenal from Tottenham blue
We'd be a darn sight better of if we knew
Where Billy's bones are resting now
Billy saw a copper and he hit him in the knee
And he took him down from six foot to five foot three
Then he hit him fair and square in the do-re-mi
That copper won't be having any family
Hey Billy son where are you now
Don't you know that we need you now
With a ra-ta-ta and the old kow-tow
Where are Billy's bones resting now
Billy went away with the peace-keeping force
'Cause he liked a bloody good fight of course
Went away in an old khaki van to the banks of the river Jordan
Billy saw the Arabs and he had 'em on the run
When he got 'em in the range of his sub-machine gun
Then he had the Israelis in his sights, went a ra-ta-ta
And they ran like Shiites
Hey Billy son where are you now
Don't you know that we need you now
With a ra-ta-ta and the old kow-tow
Where are Billy's bones resting now
One night Billy had a rare old time,
Laughing and singing on the Lebanon line
Came back to camp not looking too pretty
Never even got to see the Holy City
Now Billy's out there in the desert sun
And his mother cries when the morning comes
And there's mothers crying all over this world
For their poor dead darling boys and girls
Hey Billy son where are you now
Don't you know that we need you now
With a ra-ta-ta and the old kow-tow
Where are Billy's bones resting now
Have a Billy holiday
Born on a Monday
Married on a Tuesday
Drunk on a Wednesday
Got plugged on a Thursday
Sick on a Friday
Died on a Saturday
Buried on a Sunday
And he knew an Arsenal from Tottenham blue
We'd be a darn sight better of if we knew
Where Billy's bones are resting now
Billy saw a copper and he hit him in the knee
And he took him down from six foot to five foot three
Then he hit him fair and square in the do-re-mi
That copper won't be having any family
Don't you know that we need you now
With a ra-ta-ta and the old kow-tow
Where are Billy's bones resting now
'Cause he liked a bloody good fight of course
Went away in an old khaki van to the banks of the river Jordan
Billy saw the Arabs and he had 'em on the run
When he got 'em in the range of his sub-machine gun
Then he had the Israelis in his sights, went a ra-ta-ta
And they ran like Shiites
Don't you know that we need you now
With a ra-ta-ta and the old kow-tow
Where are Billy's bones resting now
Laughing and singing on the Lebanon line
Came back to camp not looking too pretty
Never even got to see the Holy City
Now Billy's out there in the desert sun
And his mother cries when the morning comes
And there's mothers crying all over this world
For their poor dead darling boys and girls
Don't you know that we need you now
With a ra-ta-ta and the old kow-tow
Where are Billy's bones resting now
Born on a Monday
Married on a Tuesday
Drunk on a Wednesday
Got plugged on a Thursday
Sick on a Friday
Died on a Saturday
Buried on a Sunday
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aw no one else likes this song? eh, i love it. anyway, its pretty explanatory. about goin to war. anyway, i just love this song. dkm did a pretty good cover of it too
Awesome song and band! This is my favorite from them. I really need the DKM cover, cause they rock, too.
I just can't get enough of how he sings the line, 'For their poor dead darling boys and girls.' Don't worry, guys, there are more Billy's Bones fans out there than you would suspect!
I love the line about Billy going away with a peace keeping force cause he loves a bloody good fight of course- i'm a big fan of the pogues
This is an anti-war song that plays on the sad irony of it all:
Billy went away with a peace-keeping force Cause he liked a bloody good fight of course
And the very blunt and nonchalant way he sings about the harsh facts of war shows how we've all come to take for granted what it really means to go to war, as if it's just some jolly ride on a merry-go-round like when you play a war-themed video game with your pals and go out for beer and pizza afterwards.
I think it's amazing, too. :)