We Didn't Start the Fire
Billy Joel
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Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom Brando, "The King and I" and "The Catcher in the Rye" Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a new queen Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron Dien Bien Phu falls, "Rock Around the Clock" Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Krushchev Princess Grace, "Peyton Place", trouble in the Suez We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, "Bridge on the River Kwai" Lebanon, Charlse de Gaulle, California baseball Starkweather, homicide, children of thalidomide Buddy Holly, "Ben Hur", space monkey, Mafia Hula hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go U2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy Chubby Checker, "Psycho", Belgians in the Congo We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it Hemingway, Eichmann, "Stranger in a Strange Land" Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion "Lawrence of Arabia", British Beatlemania Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politician sex JFK, blown away, what else do I have to say We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock Begin, Reagan, Palestine, terror on the airline Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan "Wheel of Fortune", Sally Ride, heavy metal, suicide Foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law Rock and roller cola wars, I can't take it anymore We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire But when we are gone Will it still burn on, and on, and on, and on We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it
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16 fans
Written by: Billy Joel
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
12 facts about this song
Release Date"We Didn't Start the Fire" was released on September 27, 1989, as the first single from Billy Joel's album "Storm Front."
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Genre ClassificationThe song is usually classified as rock, pop rock or new wave due to its upbeat tempo and catchy tune.
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Lyrical ContentThe lyrics of the song reference over 100 noteworthy events, people, and cultural shifts that happened between 1949 and 1989, essentially capturing 40 years of world history.
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Chart Performance"We Didn't Start the Fire" was an immediate success and hit number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.
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Grammy NominationIn 1990, the song garnered a Grammy nomination for "Record of the Year," but eventually lost to Bette Midler's "Wind Beneath My Wings."
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Music VideoThe music video for the song, directed by Chris Blum, received significant rotation on MTV. It employs rapid scripted images to illustrate the historical references in the lyrics.
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Song InspirationThe song was inspired by a conversation between Billy Joel and Sean Lennon (John Lennon's son) about the perceived ease of growing up in the 50s and 60s compared to the then-current era.
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Billy Joel's OpinionDespite the song's success, Joel has referred to it as "one of his least favorite songs," mainly due to its quick tempo and rapid-fire lyrics making it difficult to perform live.
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Educational UseThe song has been commonly used by history teachers to engage students in discussion about significant historical events as an unconventional teaching tool.
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Retirement of the SongInterestingly, Billy Joel retired the song from his live performances in 1993. He believed that as the song ends in 1989, attempts showcasing further events don't fit the original concept of encapsulating world events while he was growing up.
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Return to PerformanceDespite its retirement, the song made a return in 2001 for Joel's shows following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
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Song RightsBilly Joel has forbidden the use of the song for political campaigning purpose, preventing misinterpretation of the lyrics for someone's political advantage.
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Citation
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