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 15 November 2007)
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:
- How good a song can a list of names be?
- What are the lyrics to the song?
- What about these people and events?
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)
Note: The dates at the left link to the facts page to give details about the listed events.
1949
Harry Truman, Doris Day
Red China, Johnny Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio
1950
Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon
Studebaker, Television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe
1951
Rosenbergs, H-bomb
Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, The King and I
And The Catcher In The Rye
1952
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
1953
Joseph Stalin, Malenkov
Nasser and Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc
1954
Roy Cohn
Juan Peron
Toscanini, Dacron
Dien Bien Phu Falls, Rock Around the Clock
1955
Einstein, James Dean,
Brooklyn's got a winning team
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan
Elvis Presley, Disneyland
1956
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
1957
Little Rock, Pasternak,
Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Chou En-Lai,
Bridge On The River Kwai
1958
Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle,
California baseball
Starkweather homicides,
Children of Thalidomide
1959
Buddy Holly, Ben Hur
Space Monkey, Mafia
Hula Hoops, Castro
Edsel is a no-go
1960
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
1961
Hemingway, Eichman
Stranger in a Strange Land
Dylan
Berlin
Bay of Pigs invasion
1962
Lawrence of Arabia
British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn
Liston beats Patterson
1963
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
1964-1989
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.
Summary
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.
Songs can tell about history of the times
Resources
The following are some resources on this topic.
MP3 audio
We Didn't Start The Fire
Videos
The following links are videos of the song:
Billy Joel music video - YouTube version
Billy Joel music video - Google video version
Version showing pictures of events
Another version with pictures synched to song
Websites
Billy Joel "Storm Front" album - From Billy Joel site
Books
Mini-quiz to check your understanding
If you got all three correct, you are on your way to becoming a Champion in History. If you had problems, you had better look over the material again.
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Where can you go from here?
"We Didn't Start the Fire" (Lyrics) History Summary from 1949-1989
"We Didn't Start the Fire" (Facts)