A punked up rockin cover song
kiss
elton john
the clash
new york dolls
beat happening
jonathan richman
young pioneers
Creative Commons license
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Adaptations of this track are NOT allowed to be shared
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Story behind the song
Matt: We revere Bo Donaldson and the Haywoods only slightly less than Nirvana and Spinal Tap
Ron: Recorded at The Evergreen State College in Studio B by Bryan Learned (bass player for the Young Pioneers) on 12/07/1983.
Lyrics
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 ...