# Family Disagrees About "Billy, Don't be a Hero". Help! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 24, 2005, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650 "2005-10-24T13:05:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/21 "2005-10-24T17:45:15Z")
I bought the Time Life 70s collection and the notes that came with it say that it is about the War between the States. I have always thought it was as well. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/22 "2005-10-24T17:56:22Z")
It was about the Civil War the same way M_A_S\*H was about the Korean War. Both were allegories for Vietnam. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/23 "2005-10-24T18:02:15Z")
> [@anyrose](#): > > …it was meant to be an allegory for Vietnam Any evidence for that, or is that just your own reading? (I mean no offense by the question.) It strikes me as just a song set in the US Civil War. Period. Where’s the allegory? Paper Lace seems to have had a fascination with US history. (See “The Night Chicago Died.”) ---
**Author:** ![Mikemike2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikemike2/32/305_2.png) [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/24 "2005-10-24T18:04:17Z")
Was “Billy” a common name in the civil war era? Would they have not have used the more formal “William” or “Bill”? I always thought it was a modern based song because of his name. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/25 "2005-10-24T18:11:55Z")
> [@Mikemike2](#): > > Was “Billy” a common name in the civil war era? Would they have not have used the more formal “William” or “Bill”? I always thought it was a modern based song because of his name. As a matter of fact, the counetrpoint to “Johnny Reb” during that war was “Billy Yank.” ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/26 "2005-10-24T18:12:10Z")
> [@Mikemike2](#): > > Was “Billy” a common name in the civil war era? Would they have not have used the more formal “William” or “Bill”? I always thought it was a modern based song because of his name. Billy is by no means a modern invention; there were plenty of Billy’s in the CW era. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/27 "2005-10-24T18:16:14Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > The Night Chicago Died plays only slightly more often than Billy Don’t be a Hero on Radio Hell. Dude, have you heard that song recently? I remember hating it too, but then I heard it recently, and it’s really a killer little pop tune, with really great percussion. I put it on a compilation for some younger friends lately, and they’re like all “_whoa_!” and shit. Next up: one of my favorite songs to surprise people with when I’m in charge of party music: almost nothing gets people out on the dance floor like (I am not making this up) “Ballroom Blitz”. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/28 "2005-10-24T18:20:59Z")
The cringey-est of those 70’s story songs has to be [“Run Joey Run.”](http://ntl.matrix.com.br/pfilho/html/lyrics/r/run_joey_run.txt) ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/29 "2005-10-24T19:16:08Z")
someone needs to point out that this is one scary topic for a family discussion… was this during a brady bunch re-run commercial break? ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/30 "2005-10-24T19:17:35Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > … > > Paper Lace seems to have had a fascination with US history. (See “The Night Chicago Died.”) Umm, (cough)…If they did, they sure weren’t studying it when they did “The Night Chicago Died.” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/31 "2005-10-24T19:18:22Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Dude, have you heard that song recently? I remember hating it too, but then I heard it recently, and it’s really a killer little pop tune, with really great percussion. I put it on a compilation for some younger friends lately, and they’re like all “_whoa_!” and shit. Next up: one of my favorite songs to surprise people with when I’m in charge of party music: almost nothing gets people out on the dance floor like (I am not making this up) “Ballroom Blitz”. But, Dude, don’t you agree that the lyrics for “The Night Chicago Died” are so embarrassing you’re tempted to pull your face off? They are cringy-er than “Run, Joey, Run” and that is saying something. The cringy-est is “Havin’ My Baby” but that observation may be clouded by the fact that I was about 11 or so when it was popular and I particularly couldn’t stand to hear it in front of my dad. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/32 "2005-10-24T19:18:32Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Dude, have you heard that song recently? I remember hating it too, but then I heard it recently, and it’s really a killer little pop tune, with really great percussion. I put it on a compilation for some younger friends lately, and they’re like all “_whoa_!” and shit. Next up: one of my favorite songs to surprise people with when I’m in charge of party music: almost nothing gets people out on the dance floor like (I am not making this up) “Ballroom Blitz”. I still have it burned into my head, thank you very much. It’s an infectious little song the same way Ebola is infectious little cold. The fact that it went to number one on the pop charts is evidence that. But no matter how cool the percussion is, the words of the song are stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/33 "2005-10-24T19:19:51Z")
> [@phungi](#): > > someone needs to point out that this is one scary topic for a family discussion… was this during a brady bunch re-run commercial break? My sister and her husband were on a 4 hour car trip and have recently gotten satellite radio. You do the math. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/34 "2005-10-24T19:26:22Z")
If they put their back into it, they could make the argument last waaaay past the 4 hour car trip. Paper Lace…the name being a comment on Nottingham being a lace making center at one point, perhaps? How pithy. How edgy. That said, I loved the Night Chicago Died–I was maybe 8 when it came out (IMS). Billy/Hero I always thought was about the Revolutionary War, but again, I might have been studying that in school at the time… Someone should do a club mix of Chicago Died…heheheh. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/35 "2005-10-24T19:37:06Z")
I always thought it was an allegorical retelling of the life of Christ. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/36 "2005-10-24T19:49:48Z")
> [@Caricci](#): > > But, Dude, don’t you agree that the lyrics for “The Night Chicago Died” are so embarrassing you’re tempted to pull your face off? IIRC, there was some discussion of the lyrics when the song came out. Apparently, there is no “East side of Chicago”. I mean, technically, there is, but no one calls it that. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/37 "2005-10-24T20:00:32Z")
The east side of Chicago is a lake. It’s a pretty great lake too. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/38 "2005-10-24T20:08:52Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > The east side of Chicago is a lake. > > It’s a pretty great lake too. Does Chicago have (or had, in the case of the song) Lake Police? ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/39 "2005-10-24T20:23:16Z")
Okay, now I can’t stand it! What did they have rhyming with “And he kissed my mama’s face!”? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/40 "2005-10-24T20:26:44Z")
> [@Caricci](#): > > Okay, now I can’t stand it! What did they have rhyming with “And he kissed my mama’s face!”? Nothing: > [@Paper Lace](#): > > Then there was no sound at all > But the clock up on the wall > Then the door burst open wide > And my daddy stepped inside > And he kissed my momma’s face > Then brushed her tears away [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650.md?page=3)