We Didn’t Start the Fire
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Verse 1
Harry Truman, Doris DayRed China, Johnnie RaySouth PacificWalter Winchell, Joe DiMaggioJoe McCarthy, Richard NixonStudebaker, televisionNorth Korea, South KoreaMarilyn MonroeVerse 2
Rosenbergs, H-BombSugar Ray, PanmunjomBrando, The King and IAnd The Catcher in the RyeEisenhower, vaccineEngland's got a new queenMarciano, LiberaceSantayana goodbyeChorus
We didn't start the fireIt was always burningSince the world's been turningWe didn't start the fireNo, we didn't light itBut we tried to fight itVerse 3
Joseph Stalin, MalenkovNasser and ProkofievRockefeller, CampanellaCommunist BlocRoy Cohn, Juan PeronToscanini, DacronDien Bien Phu Falls, "Rock Around the Clock"Einstein, James DeanBrooklyn's got a winning teamDavy Crockett, Peter PanElvis Presley, DisneylandBardot, Budapest, Alabama, KhrushchevPrincess Grace, Peyton PlaceTrouble in the SuezChorus
We didn't start the fireIt was always burningSince the world's been turningWe didn't start the fireNo, we didn't light itBut we tried to fight itVerse 4
Little Rock, PasternakMickey Mantle, KerouacSputnik, Zhou En-laiBridge On The River KwaiLebanon, Charles de GaulleCalifornia baseballStarkweather HomicideChildren of ThalidomideBuddy Holly, Ben-HurSpace Monkey, MafiaHula Hoops, CastroEdsel is a no-goU-2, Syngman RheePayola and KennedyChubby Checker, PsychoBelgians in the CongoChorus
We didn't start the fireIt was always burningSince the world's been turningWe didn't start the fireNo, we didn't light itBut we tried to fight itVerse 5
Hemingway, EichmannStranger in a Strange LandDylan, BerlinBay of Pigs invasionLawrence of ArabiaBritish BeatlemaniaOle Miss, John GlennListon beats PattersonPope Paul, Malcolm XBritish politician sexJ.F.K. blown awayWhat else do I have to say?Chorus
We didn't start the fireIt was always burningSince the world's been turningWe didn't start the fireNo, we didn't light itBut we tried to fight itVerse 6
Birth control, Ho Chi MinhRichard Nixon back againMoonshot, WoodstockWatergate, punk rockBegin, Reagan, PalestineTerror on the airlineAyatollahs in IranRussians in AfghanistanWheel of Fortune, Sally RideHeavy metal suicideForeign debts, homeless vetsAIDS, crack, Bernie GoetzHypodermics on the shoresChina's under martial lawRock and Roller cola warsI can't take it anymoreChorus
We didn't start the fireIt was always burningSince the world's been turningWe didn't start the fireBut when we are goneIt will still burn on, and onAnd on, and onOutro
We didn't start the fireIt was always burningSince the world's been turningWe didn't start the fireNo, we didn't light itBut we tried to fight itWe didn't start the fireIt was always burningSince the world's been turningWe didn't start the fireNo, we didn't light itBut we tried to fight itWe didn't start the fireIt was always burningSince the world's been turningWe didn't start the fireNo, we didn't light itBut we tried to fight itWe didn't start the fireIt was always burningSince the world's been turningWhat the song means
A chronological summary of major world events, cultural phenomena, and famous figures from 1949-1989. The song argues that Billy Joel's generation inherited a troubled world ("the fire") already burning with conflict and complexity. Though they didn't create these problems, they attempted to confront them.
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Studebaker — An American car brand
References 1950s consumer culture and automobiles
