The Billy Boys is a loyalist

Ulster loyalism

Ulster loyalism is an ideology that is opposed to a united Ireland. It can mean either support for upholding Northern Ireland's status as a constituent part of the United Kingdom , support for Northern Ireland independence, or support for loyalist paramilitaries...

 song from Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, sung to the tune of "Marching Through Georgia

Marching Through Georgia

"Marching Through Georgia" is a marching song written by Henry Clay Work at the end of the American Civil War in 1865. It refers to U.S. Maj. Gen...

." It originated in the 1930s as the signature song of one of the Glasgow razor gangs

Glasgow razor gangs

- Introduction :The Glasgow razor gangs were violent gangs that existed in the South Side of Glasgow in the late 1920s and 1930s, named for their weapon of choice, which they used to slash their victims....

 led by Billy Fullerton and later reflected the long running sectarian divide in the city. It is associated in particular with Rangers

Rangers F.C.

Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

 football club.

The song is at the centre of a controversy surrounding "ninety-minute bigots", an expression allegedly coined by Rangers chairman Sir David Murray

David Murray (Scottish businessman)

Sir David Edward Murray is a Scottish entrepreneur, businessman and former owner and chairman of Rangers Football Club....

: "Ninety-minute Bigots do not hold sectarian beliefs but nonetheless sing songs at football matches which are sectarian, simply to join in with the rest of the crowd." Rangers have adopted several measures to tackle this behaviour, with Murray speaking out against it on many occasions. In June 2006, Rangers were ordered by UEFA

UEFA

The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....

 to make a public announcement at all home games, prohibiting the singing of the song.

Billy Boys is the title of a book on the history of Orangeism in Scotland.

Origins

Billy Boys originated in the 1920s as the signature tune of the Brigton Boys, a Protestant street gang in Glasgow led by Billy Fullerton. The gang often clashed with Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 gangs such as the Norman Conks

Norman Conks

The Norman Conks were a large Catholic street gang active in Glasgow, known as one of the popular Glasgow razor gangs, from the 1880s to the 1960s, with their headquarters and most of their members based about the Catholic area of Norman Street in Bridgeton. They were initially a penny mob, but...

. Fullerton was a former member of the British Fascists

British Fascists

The British Fascists were the first avowedly fascist organisation in the United Kingdom. William Joyce, Neil Francis Hawkins, Maxwell Knight and Arnold Leese were amongst those to have passed through the movement as members and activists.-Early years:...

, and was awarded a medal for strike-breaking during the 1926 General Strike. The song's geographic roots relate to Bridgeton Cross in Bridgeton

Bridgeton, Glasgow

Bridgeton is a district to the east side of Glasgow city centre. It is bounded by Glasgow Green to the west, Dalmarnock to the east and south and Calton to the north-west at Abercromby Street/ London Road...

, an area of Glasgow historically associated with the city's Protestant population, and with Scottish unionism. Brigton is the Scots

Scots language

Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...

 form of Bridgeton. Fenian

Fenian

The Fenians , both the Fenian Brotherhood and Irish Republican Brotherhood , were fraternal organisations dedicated to the establishment of an independent Irish Republic in the 19th and early 20th century. The name "Fenians" was first applied by John O'Mahony to the members of the Irish republican...

in the context of this song is understood by some to refer to Irish republicans, and by others to refer to all Irish Roman Catholics.

Lyric

Hullo, Hullo

We are the Billy Boys

Hullo, Hullo

You'll know us by our noise

We're up to our knees in fenian blood

Surrender or you'll die

For we are

The Brigton Derry Boys

In the final line the word "Brigton" is often replaced by the name of the singer's hometown/estate. Example, "Govan Derry Boys".