In The Song "Billy Don't Be A Hero"... Which War Was Billy Fighting In?

[arwalden]

From what I can tell, the lyrics don't offer much of a clue.

These words:

I need a volunteer to *ride up*
And bring us back some extra men

might indicate riding on a horse which might suggest WWI or Civil War, but it's still ambiguous.

-- Allen


The marchin' 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 cryin'
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
Forgettin' 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 ...

[Not_Giving_Up]

1. You shouldn't be able to tell

It spans all time.

[arwalden]

3. I Wonder If That Was The Writer's Intent...

... or if there's a story behind the song that I haven't heard about.

[Dookus]

2. would

soldier blues refer to Union soldiers?

[arwalden]

6. I Hadn't Thought Of That...

... you're probably right.

[DivinBreuvage]

4. Civil War. n/t

[DivinBreuvage]

5. Also, phony in its anti-war sentiment.

At least in the early stages of the war, Civil War women hassled the crap out of men if they didn't enlist. See Ambrose Bierce's "Killed at Resaca" for a trenchant observation on this phenomenon.

Some men, including William T. Sherman, blamed the women of the South for the Confederacy's refusal to surrender after the tide turned decisively against it in 1864.

[last_texas_dem]

7. I think "soldier blue" would make it Civil War...

...reference to Union soldiers, but I think it was subtly an anti-Vietnam protest. Sure, 1974 was a little late to be releasing one, but I figure the song was written quite a bit earlier. And maybe the authors figured the bubblegum crowd might not be into something as politically relevant as a Vietnam War protests song, so figured they'd subtly mask it by making it about the Civil War.

That's my crazy theory, at least. :-) Hey, I'm a defensive fan of that song (you have to be defensive if you're a fan of "Billy...") so like to give it more importance than it probably deserves!

[lenidog]

8. In my mind

it always made me think of the Indian Wars . The soldier blue would still fit and the whole hill scene puts my mind in to thinking of the Battle of the Little Bighorn.