Released: 1989
“We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel is like a whirlwind tour through roughly four decades of history, packed into a catchy rock tune. Joel races through significant names, places, and events that shaped the world from 1949, the year of his birth, to 1989, when the song was released. The chorus hammers home the message that though these events occurred on our watch, the previous generations set the stage for them, and despite the chaos, we’re doing our best to deal with the aftermath.
The song kicks off with historical figures and pop culture icons such as Harry Truman, Doris Day, and Joe DiMaggio, blending the lines between politics, entertainment, and sports. These cameos set the stage for a rollercoaster ride through the Cold War era, including nods to the H-bomb and Marilyn Monroe, showing how global events and celebrity culture intertwine. Joel’s rapid-fire name-dropping serves as a reminder that history isn’t just about politics; it’s also about the everyday pop culture that colors our world.
The chorus, “We didn’t start the fire / It was always burning, since the world’s been turning”, dips into a well of shared responsibility. It suggests that while the newer generations inherit the world’s problems, they’re not the original architects of those issues. It’s an anthem of both accountability and exoneration, painting a picture of a society perpetually catching up with the fires ignited long before they arrived.
As the song bulldozes through the decades, it touches on the rise of television, the space race, rock and roll, and significant political crises like Watergate and the Bay of Pigs invasion. Each reference acts as a snapshot, a moment frozen in the collective memory of the world’s consciousness. Joel skillfully crams dense, intricate historical contexts into bite-sized lyrical snippets, challenging the listener to keep up with the relentless pace of change and turmoil.
The latter verses cover the turbulence of the 60s, 70s, and 80s, including civil rights movements, the Vietnam War, the advent of punk rock, and the emergence of AIDS. The song then culminates with a reflection on the continuing cycle of global and local crises, suggesting a sense of inevitability about these struggles. Joel’s closing lines, emphasizing that the fire will keep burning long after we’re gone, echo the song’s central theme: the world keeps turning, and with it, the flame of history burns on – out of control, unpredictable, but enduringly human.
In “We Didn’t Start the Fire”, Billy Joel doesn’t just recount history; he invites us on a high-speed chase through time. The song is more than a list; it’s a narrative about how history shapes us, how we contribute to its course, and how its weight is a collective burden we carry together. Joel’s rapid-fire enumeration of events and figures underscores the interconnectedness of our experiences, reminding us that we’re all part of the tapestry that is history – participants, for better or worse, in the ongoing story of our world.
