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Explanation of the lyrics of the song "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Bill Joel and how it relates to the historical events and people between 1949 and 1989. Also refer to recent history, lyrics, facts, personalities, Ron Kurtus, School for Champions. Copyright © Restrictions

"We Didn't Start the Fire" (Lyrics) History Summary from 1949-1989

by Ron Kurtus (revised 1 June 2005)

In 1989, singer Billy Joel released a popular song entitled We Didn't Start the Fire. The song simply lists historical personalities and events from 1949 until 1989. Just hearing the mention of them brought back memories of the times to many listeners. The lyrics of the song proved to be a good summary of the history of that era.

Questions you may have about this are:

This lesson will answer those questions. There is a mini-quiz near the end of the lesson.

Also see: "We Didn't Start the Fire" (Facts) for an explanation of each item.

Poetry of lyrics

It is enlightening to read the lyrics to see how Billy Joel rhymed the historical events. I broke up the lyrics to make it easier to get the feeling of the song.

The chorus of the song is interesting in saying that "we (that generation) didn't light the fire (cause the problems), but we tried to fight them." What he is saying that the generation of young people in each era were not responsible for the problems and culture of the times. But many tried to rebel or even fought to solve the problems.

Lyrics

(Copyright 1989 Sony Music Entertainment)

Harry Truman, Doris Day
Red China, Johnny 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, Khrushchev

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, Charles de Gaulle,
California baseball

Starkweather homicides,
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, Eichman
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?

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
No, we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Historical events

The of the times are generally grouped according to date in this song until towards the end.

After you finished the Mini-Quiz, see the next page: "We Didn't Start the Fire" (Facts) for an explanation of each item.

In conclusion

Sometimes songs or poems can lead you to the history of the times. The song "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Bily Joel provided a good listing of important historical events and personaliteis between 1949 and 1989.

Reader questions and feedback | Where can you go from here?

Songs can tell about history of the times

Resources

The following are some resources on this topic.

Websites

Billy Joel "Storm Front" album - From Billy Joel site

History Resources

Books

Miscellaneous

Donate to the School for Champions site.

School for Champions brand products - Visit our online store for t-shirts, caps, mugs and other products.

Some of the many designs and products

Mini-quiz to check your understanding

1. Why did Billy Joel pick the years from 1949 until he wrote the song in 1989?

Those were the most important years in the history of the world

Those were years he experienced while growing up

Those were the years after television news programs started

2. Were the events and people mentioned in the song historical?

If they were in the news, they were historical

All people mentioned were personal friends of Billy Joel

Most events never happened and were taken from TV shows

3. What did starting the fires have to do with anything?

Billy Joel was known as a "fire bug"

He uses fires as a metaphor for negative events 

Fires have been historical events since the great Chicago fire

If you got all three correct, you are on your way to becoming a champion in learning from history. If you had problems, you had better look over the material again.

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"We Didn't Start the Fire" (Lyrics) History Summary from 1949-1989
"We Didn't Start the Fire" (Facts)

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