What do the words Billy Don't Be a Hero supposed to mean?
Ross has just gotten divorced and now misses Carol. Joey sees Ross's divorce as an opportunity to date more women. Ross seems to like Joey's dating again idea. But Ross feels it was too long since he last was on a real date. And now Ross is afraid he has completely forgotten how to do ask a girl out.
Ross: Do you know how long it's been since I grabbed a spoon? Do the words, "Billy, don't be a hero", mean anything to you?
What is this 'Billy, Don't Be a Hero' phrase? And how does it tell us, when Ross last dated?
'Billy, Don't Be a Hero' is a line from a song by Paper Lace. It was released in 1974. So it might be the year Ross refers to. May it be that Ross hasn't been dating ever since 1974? Let's do a quick math.
In this same episode we learn Ross's age 'I'm divorced! I'm only 26 and I'm divorced!' We know that the FRIENDS show has aired on 1994. So Ross claims he hasn't been on a date since the age of 6. The joke here is based on exaggeration. You barely start dating when you are 6. Plus we know that he meets Carol in college.
But I think Ross goes even further in his exaggeration. Over a 100 years! Let me explain.
We know Ross being highly educated kind of guy. Ross may easily remember such things as dates of wars. I suggest he refers to the year as far as 1861 as the last time he has dated.
By saying that, he was saying that no, he hasn't tried to pick up any girls lately, because of the trials and tribulations involved; he is insinuating that to do so would be enough to make of him a hero.
ReplyDeletehttp://lang-8.com/78084/journals/267868
Or maybe.... he is refering to the times when this song was popular and such was according to wiki in 1974... Well Ross character was like 4 years old or so... No, it is not it.
ReplyDeleteI think it is it. he's trying to say that he's coy from having shots with girls because it is risky to go that way because he'll get used to it and will not be with one person (as he wants). or that what I think lol
DeleteWell there are two of you thinking this way. Guess due to the lack of other theories we will assume it is the timing thing for Ross. He was out if such luck with girls for "slightly exaggerated forever"
DeleteИменно к тем временам и идет отыслка. Росс просто утрирует, имеет в виду, что прошло уже очень много времени с тех пор, как он "хватал ложку".
ReplyDeleteIt seems this way.
DeleteYeah, he's just exaggerating by referencing this song to show how long it's been. He's not literally saying it was 1974, just that it was a loooooong time ago.
ReplyDeleteI like how the user @paulstock put it:
DeleteI always thought that Ross was trying to tell the guys it has been a very long time since he last asked a woman out, so he mentions the song, Billy Don't Be a Hero, which came out in 1974, 20 years before this episode takes place.
Notice how he phrases his reply: " Do you know how long it's been since I grabbed a spoon? Do the words 'Billy don't be a hero' mean anything to you?"
Obviously, he was exaggerating, since he had presumably asked Carol out a few years earlier.
ORIGINAL HERE:
http://movies.stackexchange.com/questions/3910/do-the-words-billy-dont-be-a-hero-mean-anything-to-you
Yet, there is another way to explain it from the same site, but by a different user:
ReplyDeleteSo, I know this is question was asked some time ago, but, I have another theory all together, and kinda goes along with user17976's answer. If, let's say, Ross first asked Carol out around 1984-85, he's saying it's been a while. So, this may be a little far fetched, but I think it may be a reference to an old TV show around this time frame, called "Misfits of Science". In the second episode "Your place or Mayan", toward the end, one of characters on the show is trying to save one of the others. The one who is being saved yells out "Billy, don't be a hero", as he swings on a rope trying to save her.
Why, you ask, do I believe this may be what Ross is referring to? For one, Ross is considered a science geek, so it's possible he would have been interested in that particular show. And second, that show, "Misfits of Science", starred an up and coming actress by the name of -- Countney Cox. Perhaps the line was thrown in as a nod to how she got her start on a cheesy (and it was very cheesy) Sci-Fi show.
As a said, a little far fetched, but it's entirely plausible. You can check the episode out on YouTube.
ORIGINAL HERE:
http://movies.stackexchange.com/questions/3910/do-the-words-billy-dont-be-a-hero-mean-anything-to-you
He’s exaggerating at the last time he ‘grabbed a spoon’ (tried asking a girl out), by saying it was when the song was out, all the way back to 1974.
ReplyDeleteI may be wrong but I think there is another misfits of science reference in friends. When chandler outs that Ross in in love with Rachel and tries to take back that statement, Joey says to him - "keep rubbing your head, that will turn back time". This was Courtney Cox's exact power in the Misfits.
ReplyDelete