# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/41 "2005-10-24T20:26:49Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Does Chicago have (or had, in the case of the song) Lake Police? They do have a water division, yes. Dunno if they did in the 20s. ---
**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, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/42 "2005-10-24T20:28:23Z")
Okay, technically they’re trying to rhyme “face” with “away”. For this I blame Steve Miller, one the worst rhymers ever. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/43 "2005-10-24T20:31:13Z")
The truly hilarious thing about that song is the idea of Capone’s men and the Chicago police force having a huge, all night gun battle that results in the routing of the gangsters. There was a reason the feds started the “Untouchables”. ---
**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, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/44 "2005-10-24T20:32:24Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Okay, technically they’re trying to rhyme “face” with “away”. > > For this I blame Steve Miller, one the worst rhymers ever. Thank you! Oh, my, thank goodness I didn’t go to that Paper Lace site till just now when my boss was out of the office! It plays BDBAH wicked loud! I probably wouldn’t be in trouble, but I’m sure she’d think I was a moron with no taste in music. ---
**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, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/45 "2005-10-24T20:34:42Z")
> [@Rube E. Tewesday](#): > > The truly hilarious thing about that song is the idea of Capone’s men and the Chicago police force having a huge, all night gun battle that results in the routing of the gangsters. > > There was a reason the feds started the “Untouchables”. It’s almost like Spinal Tap’s “Stonehenge” in that the writer took the most basic facts of the situation and made up a history out of whole cloth. The only difference is “Stonehenge” is a _parody_ ! ---
**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, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/46 "2005-10-24T21:18:58Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > 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. Yes, the words are stupid. But I listen to Moroccon hiphop and Tibetan opera too; words are not all there is to a song. Speshly a pop song. If you turn to Sweet for literature, dude, well, don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/47 "2005-10-24T22:53:40Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Yes, the words are stupid. But I listen to Moroccon hiphop and Tibetan opera too; words are not all there is to a song. Speshly a pop song. If you turn to Sweet for literature, dude, well, don’t. Granted. Just because the lyrics are moronic doesn’t mean I can’t bop around to it. I just wish I could bop around to it without thinking about how stupid the lyrics are …I’ve never been able to shut out lyrics the way some people seem to do. ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/48 "2005-10-25T00:03:08Z")
> [@Rube E. Tewesday](#): > > Granted. Just because the lyrics are moronic doesn’t mean I can’t bop around to it. I just wish I could bop around to it without thinking about how stupid the lyrics are …I’ve never been able to shut out lyrics the way some people seem to do. Agreed; it’s all about the “beat.” Just like movies, don’t look for consistency or even literal meaning in song lyrics. I remember some guy, back in the Ed Sullivan days, made a good comic routine by just reading song lyrics, with no inflection. Some of it was pretty hilarioous. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/49 "2005-10-25T00:28:03Z")
> [@LiveOnAPlane](#): > > Agreed; it’s all about the “beat.” > > Just like movies, don’t look for consistency or even literal meaning in song lyrics. > > I remember some guy, back in the Ed Sullivan days, made a good comic routine by just reading song lyrics, with no inflection. Some of it was pretty hilarioous. Hmmmm. Sparks a memory, but one that was certainly post-Sullivan (we did not watch him in my youth.) It is actually entertaining and I have done it myself to rather good reception. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/50 "2005-10-25T00:41:52Z")
No discussion of crappy '70s hits is complete without mention of [D.O.A.](http://www.lyrical.nl/song/19659) by Bloodrock. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/51 "2005-10-25T00:58:34Z")
> [@Caricci](#): > > Okay, now I can’t stand it! What did they have rhyming with “And he kissed my mama’s face!”? And said, “I must defend the Negro race!” no that’s not it … And said, “I’m off to war with a can of Mace.” no, no, that’s not either … And then he touched her in a bad place Yeah, that was it. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/52 "2005-10-25T03:08:41Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > The only debate about that is w[h]ether the song sucks ass or if it sucks monkey ass. You know, I have never heard this expression before. What a colorful idiom! I just encountered it for the first time in your post, which I read while drinking a nightcap of Kahlua and Hot Chocolate. Thanks so much, Zebra. You’ve broken my 25-year “no snorking” streak. And given me my first snorking of a HOT drink (ow). Now I have to start all over, after I blow my nose and wipe up my keyboard. This calls for more Kahlua (forget the hot chocolate). ---
**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 25, 2005, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/53 "2005-10-25T03:13:27Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > …Hot Chocolate… …and speaking of Hot Chocolate, remember “Emma”? She wanted to be a star, but couldn’t deal, so she commited suicide. Ah, the 70’s. Something for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/54 "2005-10-25T03:44:34Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > Hmmmm. Sparks a memory, but one that was certainly post-Sullivan (we did not watch him in my youth.) It is actually entertaining and I have done it myself to rather good reception. I believe it some guy wearing whose name escapes me but he wore a derby hat and suit and did that routine on either \*Shindig \*or _Hullabaloo_. I particularly remember him blandly reading the lyrics to Sir Douglass Quintet’s _She’s About A Mover_. Went sumpin’ like this: "\*She’s about a mover She’s about a mover She’s about a mover She’s about a mover She’s about a mover She’s about a mover She’s about a mover She’s about a mover Hey, hey Wha’d I say\*" 😃 Oh, and I agree about Steve Miller. It’s always been a mystery to me why so much acclaim has been heaped on that guy. \*“Robbin’ his castle/got into a great big hassle”, \*my indignant ass. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/55 "2005-10-25T04:25:13Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > But no matter how cool the percussion is, the words of the song are stupid. Oh, thank god I thought you were talking about “Ballroom Blitz.” Then I’d have to summon Beauregard. I likes me some Sweet. I heard “Teenage Rampage” on a commercial not too long ago. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/56 "2005-10-25T10:14:56Z")
spoke- writes: \> 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? No evidence beyond the fact that everything that could be read as a Vietnam allegory was read as such in that period (roughly the late 1960’s to the late 1970’s). I remember when the song came out and it was obvious that it was implicitly about the Vietnam War. (Why would anyone even care about the meaning of heroism in the Civil War at the time the song came out?) During certain periods the “real” reference of many works of art is so obvious that nobody has to spell out the allegory in them. Similarly, from the late 1940’s to the early 1960’s, the overarching metaphor was the Cold War and McCarthyism. _Inherit the Wind_ was implicitly about McCarthyism, as was _The Crucible_. Rod Serling created _The Twilight Zone_ so that he could write allegories about McCarthyism and everything else he was bothered about and yet not get complaints from the TV network. If they complained, he could say, “Hey, it’s not even set on Earth, let alone in present-day America.” ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/57 "2005-10-25T13:00:37Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > …and speaking of Hot Chocolate, remember “Emma”? > > She wanted to be a star, but couldn’t deal, so she commited suicide. > > Ah, the 70’s. Something for everyone. Excuse me, but I think you mean “Emmaline”. “Emma Emmaline something something movie screen.” It was pretty much a dirge. ---
**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 25, 2005, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/58 "2005-10-25T13:39:26Z")
> [@Caricci](#): > > Excuse me, but I think you mean “Emmaline”. > > “Emma Emmaline something something movie screen.” > > It was pretty much a dirge. The title is “Emma”, but the singer calls her Emmaline in the song. [Cite](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:8ojteaz04xu7) ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/59 "2005-10-25T13:56:19Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > The title is “Emma”, but the singer calls her Emmaline in the song. > > [Cite](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:8ojteaz04xu7) Cause “Emmaline” rhymes with “something, something movie screen”. ---
**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 25, 2005, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650/60 "2005-10-25T14:01:23Z")
> [@Caricci](#): > > Cause “Emmaline” rhymes with “something, something movie screen”. Poetic license - dontcha love it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-disagrees-about-billy-dont-be-a-hero-help/327650.md?page=4)