We Didn’t Start the Fire
Billy Joel * Track #2 On Storm Front
Download "We Didn’t Start the Fire"
Album Storm Front
We Didn't Start the Fire by Billy Joel
Release Date
Performed by
Billy JoelWrited by
Billy JoelAbout
This monster hit of a song was created in 1989, when Joel turned 40. The idea spawned from a conversation he had with a friend of Sean Lennon. The friend just turned 21 and was complaining about how crazy it was to be living in his era, therefore undermining any other time before his. This encourage...
We Didn’t Start the Fire Lyrics
[Verse 1]
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
[Chorus]
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
[Verse 2]
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, Khrushchev
Princess Grace, Peyton Place
Trouble in the Suez
[Chorus]
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
[Verse 3]
Little Rock, Pasternak
Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Zhou En-lai
Bridge On The River Kwai
Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle
California baseball
Starkweather Homicide
Children of Thalidomide
Buddy Holly, Ben-Hur
Space Monkey, Mafia
Hula Hoops, Castro
Edsel is a no-go
U-2, Syngman Rhee
Payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, Psycho
Belgians in the Congo
[Chorus]
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
[Verse 4]
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
J.F.K. blown away
What else do I have to say?
[Chorus]
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
[Verse 5]
Birth control, Ho Chi Minh
Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock
Watergate, punk rock
Begin, Reagan, Palestine
Terror on the airline
Ayatollahs 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
[Chorus]
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
It will still burn on, and on
And on, and on
[Outro]
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
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 Q&A
Who wrote We Didn’t Start the Fire's ?
We Didn’t Start the Fire was written by Billy Joel.
Who produced We Didn’t Start the Fire's ?
We Didn’t Start the Fire was produced by Mick Jones (Foreigner) & Billy Joel.
When did Billy Joel release We Didn’t Start the Fire?
Billy Joel released We Didn’t Start the Fire on Tue Oct 17 1989.
What makes the song important?
“We Didn’t Start the Fire” is a constant reminder that no matter how crazy times may seem today, they have always been crazy and will continue to be crazy as long as life continues to exist.
It is a time capsule of political and cultural events that enlighten the listener to the moments that shape...
What does the song sound like?
Billy Joel has openly admitted that the structure of the song is basic and not up to par with most of his work. The song is performed with common instrumentation found in 1980’s pop rock. Bass guitar and drums maintain rhythm in the verses while synths and background vocals adorn the choruses. There...