"Billy Don't Be a Hero" is a 1974 pop song that was first a hit in the UK for Paper Lace and then some months later it was a hit in the US for Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods. The song was written by two British songwriters Mitch Murray and Peter Callander.

Because the song was released in 1974, it was associated by some listeners with the Vietnam War, though it actually refers to an unidentified war. But the drum pattern, references to a marching band leading soldiers in blue, and "riding out" (cavalry) would seem to be referencing the American Civil War.

A young woman is distraught that her fiancé chooses to leave the area with Army recruiters passing through the town and go with them to fight. She laments,

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 song goes on to describe how Billy is killed in action in a pitched battle after volunteering to ride out and seek reinforcements (which suggests mounted infantry and a lack of modern two-way radio communications). In the end, the woman throws away the official letter notifying her of Billy's "heroic" death.

Paper Lace's version of "Billy Don't Be a Hero" hit number one in the UK Singles Chart on 16 March 1974, and thereafter Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods version hit number one in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 on 15 June 1974, and number one in Canada on 7 July. The US version sold over three and a half million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in June 1974. The Bo Donaldson version was a massive hit in North America but is largely unknown elsewhere. Billboard ranked it as the No. 21 song for 1974.

The song is mentioned as having played on K-Billy's Super Sounds of the 70s Weekend in the film Reservoir Dogs.

The song features in the film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1993).

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