Paper Lace - Billy Don’t Be a Hero Ukulele Chords
Before you play, tune your ukulele and use the tools below to set up your view and flow.
Ukulele C chord diagram
Ukulele Em chord diagram
Ukulele Dm chord diagram
Ukulele G chord diagram
Ukulele G7 chord diagram
Ukulele C7 chord diagram
Ukulele F chord diagram
Ukulele Fm chord diagram
Ukulele G# | A♭ chord diagram
Ukulele C# | D♭ chord diagram
Ukulele D#m | E♭m chord diagram
Ukulele C#7 | D♭7 chord diagram
Ukulele F# | G♭ chord diagram
Ukulele F#m | G♭m chord diagram
Ukulele G#7 | A♭7 chord diagram
[Opening]
[C] [Em] [Dm] [G] [G7] [C]
[Dm]The marching band came [G]down along main street,
[C]The soldier blues fell in behind.
[Dm]I looked across and [G]there I saw Billy,
[C]Waiting to go and join the line,
[section 2]
[Dm]And with her head u[G]pon his shoulder
[Dm]his young and lovely [G]fiancée.
[Dm]From where I stood I [G]saw she was crying,
[Dm]And through her tears I [G]heard her say :
[chorus]
[C]Billy, don’t be a [Em]hero, don’t be a [Dm]fool with your life
[G]Billy, don’t be a [G7]hero, come back and [C]make me your wife
And as [C]Billy started to [C7]go, she said, [F]keep your pretty head [Fm]low,
[C]Billy, don’t be [G]hero, come back to [C]me !
[section 3]
[Dm]The soldier blues were [G]trapped on a hillside,
[C]The battle raging all around,
[Dm]The sergeant cried, “We’ve [G]got to hang on boys!
[C]We’ve got to hold this piece of ground !
[Closing]
[Dm]I need a volunteer to [G]ride up,
[Dm]And bring us back some [G]extra men.”
[Dm]And Billy’s hand was [G]up in a moment,
[Dm]Forgetting all the [G]words she said
[chorus]
She [G]said :
[C]Billy, don’t be a [Em]hero, don’t be a [Dm]fool with your life !
[G]Billy, don’t be a [G7]hero, come back and [C]make me your wife !
And as [C]Billy started to [C7]go, she said, [F]keep your pretty head [Fm]low,
[C]Billy, don’t be [G]hero, come back to [C]me!
[chorus]
[Dm]I heard his fian[G]cée got a letter [C]that told how Billy died that day.
[Dm]The letter said that [G]he was a hero, [C]she should be proud he died that way.
[Dm]I heard she threw the [G]letter a[C]way.
[chorus]
[C] [Em] [Dm] [G] [G7] [C]
She [Ab]said :
[Db]Billy, don’t be a hero, don’t be a [Ebm]fool with your life
[Ab]Billy, don’t be a hero, come back and [Db]make me your wife
And as [Db]Billy started to [Db7]go, she said, [F#]keep your pretty head [F#m]low,
[Db]Billy, don’t be [Ab]hero, come back to [Db]me!
[chorus]
[Ebm]I heard his fian[Ab]cée got a letter [Db]that told how Billy died that day.
[Ebm]The letter said that [Ab]he was a hero, [Db]she should be proud he died that way.
[Ebm]I heard she threw the [Ab]letter a[Db]way.
[Db] [Fm] [Ebm] [Ab] [Ab7] [Db]
How to play Billy Don't Be a Hero on Ukulele (Step-by-step)
Paper Lace - Billy Don't Be a Hero on ukulele requires 15 chords and 23 core chord transitions. You can find the full step-by-step guide below. Before you start, tune your instrument. The song uses the ↓↑-↓↑-↓↑-↓↑ pattern; practice it muted first, or simplify to downstrokes while you learn the changes.
Billy Don't Be a Hero uses these transitions most often: Dm → G (19), G → C (11), and C → Dm (9). These transitions may feel a little challenging at first, but with steady practice you can play this song quickly.When you are ready, begin with C - Em chord transition.
1. C → Em chord transition
To move from C to Em;
- Lift your ring finger from A string fret 3 and place it on C string fret 4.
- Place index finger on A string fret 2.
- Place middle finger on E string fret 3.
2. Em → Dm chord transition
To move from Em to Dm;
- Lift your index finger from A string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 1.
- Slide your middle finger from E string fret 3 to G string fret 2.
- Slide your ring finger on C string from fret 4 to fret 2.
3. Dm → G chord transition
To move from Dm to G;
- Lift your index finger from E string fret 1 and place it on C string fret 2.
- Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to A string fret 2.
- Lift your ring finger from C string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 3.
4. G → G7 chord transition
To move from G to G7;
- Lift your index finger from C string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 1.
- Slide your middle finger from A string fret 2 to C string fret 2.
- Lift your ring finger from E string fret 3 and place it on A string fret 2.
5. G7 → C chord transition
To move from G7 to C;
- While playing G7, first lift your index finger and middle finger.
- Slide your ring finger on A string from fret 2 to fret 3.
6. C → Dm chord transition
To move from C to Dm;
- Lift your ring finger from A string fret 3 and place it on C string fret 2.
- Place index finger on E string fret 1.
- Place middle finger on G string fret 2.
7. G → C chord transition
To move from G to C;
- While playing G, first lift your index finger and middle finger.
- Lift your ring finger from E string fret 3 and place it on A string fret 3.
8. C → C7 chord transition
To move from C to C7;
- While playing C, lift your ring finger from A string fret 3.
- Place index finger on A string fret 1.
9. C7 → F chord transition
To move from C7 to F;
- Lift your index finger from A string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 1.
- Place middle finger on G string fret 2.
10. F → Fm chord transition
To move from F to Fm;
- Lift your index finger from E string fret 1 and place it on G string fret 1.
- Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to E string fret 1.
- Place pinky on A string fret 3.
11. Fm → C chord transition
To move from Fm to C;
- While playing Fm, first lift your index finger, middle finger, and pinky.
- Place ring finger on A string fret 3.
12. C → Ab chord transition
To move from C to Ab;
- Keep ring finger on A string fret 3.
- Place index finger on G string fret 1.
- Place middle finger on C string fret 3.
- Place pinky on E string fret 4.
13. Ab → Db chord transition
To move from Ab to Db;
- While playing Ab, first lift your middle finger and ring finger.
- Keep index finger on G string fret 1.
- Lift your pinky from E string fret 4 and place it on A string fret 4.
14. Db → Ebm chord transition
To move from Db to Ebm;
- Lift your index finger from G string fret 1 and place it on A string fret 1.
- Slide your pinky from A string fret 4 to C string fret 3.
- Place middle finger on E string fret 2.
- Place ring finger on G string fret 3.
15. Ebm → Ab chord transition
To move from Ebm to Ab;
- Lift your index finger from A string fret 1 and place it on G string fret 1.
- Slide your middle finger from E string fret 2 to C string fret 3.
- Lift your ring finger from G string fret 3 and place it on A string fret 3.
- Slide your pinky from C string fret 3 to E string fret 4.
16. Db → Db7 chord transition
To move from Db to Db7;
- While playing Db, lift your pinky from A string fret 4.
- Keep index finger on G string fret 1.
- Place middle finger on A string fret 2.
17. Db7 → F# chord transition
To move from Db7 to F#;
- Lift your index finger from G string fret 1 and place it on C string fret 1.
- Slide your middle finger from A string fret 2 to E string fret 2.
- Place ring finger on G string fret 3.
18. F# → F#m chord transition
To move from F# to F#m;
- Keep index finger on C string fret 1.
- Lift your middle finger from E string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 2.
- Slide your ring finger from G string fret 3 to E string fret 2.
19. F#m → Db chord transition
To move from F#m to Db;
- While playing F#m, first lift your middle finger and ring finger.
- Lift your index finger from C string fret 1 and place it on G string fret 1.
- Place pinky on A string fret 4.
20. Db → Fm chord transition
To move from Db to Fm;
- Keep index finger on G string fret 1.
- Slide your pinky on A string from fret 4 to fret 3.
- Place middle finger on E string fret 1.
21. Fm → Ebm chord transition
To move from Fm to Ebm;
- Lift your index finger from G string fret 1 and place it on A string fret 1.
- Slide your middle finger on E string from fret 1 to fret 2.
- Lift your pinky from A string fret 3 and place it on C string fret 3.
- Place ring finger on G string fret 3.
22. Ab → Ab7 chord transition
To move from Ab to Ab7;
- Keep index finger on G string fret 1.
- Lift your middle finger from C string fret 3 and place it on E string fret 2.
- Slide your ring finger from A string fret 3 to C string fret 3.
- Lift your pinky from E string fret 4 and place it on A string fret 3.
23. Ab7 → Db chord transition
To move from Ab7 to Db;
- While playing Ab7, first lift your middle finger and ring finger.
- Keep index finger on G string fret 1.
- Slide your pinky on A string from fret 3 to fret 4.
Billy Don't Be a Hero chord transition analysis
A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Billy Don't Be a Hero.
- Billy Don't Be a Hero includes 96 chord transitions, 23 of them unique.
- These transitions represent 0.03% of all chord transitions in Ukulelearn.
- Billy Don't Be a Hero contains 2 of the top 10 transitions across Ukulelearn.
- These transition patterns show how Billy Don't Be a Hero connects to the rest of Ukulelearn. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.After G, the most likely next chords across Ukulelearn are C (25%), D (24%), and Am (13%).
- G → C: 25%
- G → Dm: 2%
After C, the most likely next chords across Ukulelearn are G (35%), F (16%), and D (11%).- C → G: 35%
- C → Em: 8%