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We Didn't Start the Fire

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Template:Short description {{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox song {{#invoke:Listen|main}} "We Didn't Start the Fire" is a song written by American musician Billy Joel. The song was released as a single on September 18, 1989, and later released as part of Joel's album Storm Front on October 17, 1989. A list song, its fast-paced lyrics include a series of brief references to 119<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> significant political, cultural, scientific, and sporting events between 1949 (the year of Joel's birth) and 1989, in mainly chronological order.

The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and, in late 1989, became Joel's third single to reach number one in the United States Billboard Hot 100. Storm Front became Joel's third album to reach number one in the US. "We Didn't Start the Fire", particularly in the 21st century, has become the basis of many pop culture parodies, and continues to be repurposed in various television shows, advertisements, and comedic productions. Despite its early success, Joel later noted his dislike of the song musically, and it was critically panned as one of his worst by later generations of music critics.

HistoryEdit

Joel conceived the idea for the song when he had just turned 40. He was in a recording studio and met a 21-year-old friend of Sean Lennon who said "It's a terrible time to be 21!". Joel replied: "Yeah, I remember when I was 21 – I thought it was an awful time and we had Vietnam, and y'know, drug problems, and civil rights problems and everything seemed to be awful". The friend replied: "Yeah, yeah, yeah, but it's different for you. You were a kid in the fifties and everybody knows that nothing happened in the fifties". Joel retorted: "Wait a minute, didn't you hear of the Korean War or the Suez Canal Crisis?" Joel later said those headlines formed the basic framework for the song.<ref>Template:Cite magazine Cited by Template:Harvp.</ref>

Joel later criticized the song on strictly musical grounds.<ref name="shades" /><ref name="oxford1994" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1993, when discussing it with documentary filmmaker David Horn, Joel compared its melodic content unfavorably to his song "The Longest Time": "Take a song like 'We Didn't Start the Fire'. It's really not much of a song ... If you take the melody by itself, terrible. Like a dentist drill."<ref name="shades">Template:Cite AV media</ref>

When asked if he deliberately intended to chronicle the Cold War with his song<ref>The song describes events between 1949 (when the Soviet Union detonated their first atomic bomb) and 1989 (when the Berlin Wall fell).</ref> he responded: "It was just my luck that the Soviet Union decided to close down shop [soon after putting out the song]", and that this span "had a symmetry to it, it was 40 years" that he had lived through. He was asked if he could do a follow-up about the next couple of years after the events that transpired in the original song, and he commented: "No, I wrote one song already and I don't think it was really that good to begin with, melodically".<ref name="oxford1994">Template:Citation</ref>

Critical receptionEdit

Upon its release, "We Didn't Start the Fire" was met with a mixed response. David Giles from Music Week wrote, "Promising return which finds Joel in rockier mood with a very wordy song cramming in references to virtually every major figure and event in the twentieth century. After all that, the message of the lyrics is foggy and confused, but this should certainly see him back in the charts."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Though the lyrics are rapid-fire with several people and events mentioned in each stanza, there is widespread agreement on the meaning of the lyrics. Steven Ettinger wrote:

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After a cover by Fall Out Boy was released in 2023 to negative critical reception, the song was once again brought to the forefront, and modern critics panned even the original song as one of Joel's worst in his entire catalog.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Music videoEdit

Template:External media A music video for the song was directed by Chris Blum.<ref>Garcia, Alex S. Billy Joel – We didn't start the fire Template:Webarchive. MVDBase – Music Video Database.</ref> The video begins with a newly married couple entering their 1940s-style kitchen, and shows events in their domestic life over the next four decades, including the addition and growth of their children and grandchildren, the 1950s housewife burning dinner, a distraught 1960s housewife whose disinterested husband and children won't eat her cooking, popping pills, the hippie counterculture children burning their bras and draft cards while smoking marijuana in the kitchen, and the eventual death of the family's father. The passage of time is also depicted by periodic redecoration and upgrades of the kitchen, while an unchanging Billy Joel looks on in the background. Joel is also shown banging on a table in front of a burning backdrop depicting various images that include the execution of Nguyễn Văn Lém and the assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald, among others.

DerivationsEdit

Many parodies and takeoffs have been based on the song (often expanding to events that have occurred since 1989). These parodies include The Simpsons' parody "They'll Never Stop the Simpsons" at the end of the 2002 "Gump Roast" episode,<ref name="WDSTSP">Template:Cite magazine</ref> and the San Francisco a cappella group The Richter Scales' 2007 Webby Award-winning parody "Here Comes Another Bubble".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

On May 17, 1990, the Irish rock band the Memories reached number one on the Irish Singles Chart with their version of the song entitled "The Game (Italia '90)" which celebrated Republic of Ireland's qualification for the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Billy Joel partially covered the Memories version when he performed in Dublin.

In 2004, Boris Novković and Dino Dvornik released a song "Malo Nas Je, Al' Nas Ima" ("We Are Few, But We Exist"), listing Croatian VIPs and events.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>

In 2006, Coca-Cola sampled the song to make an anthem for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Latin America, changing the lyrics according to the country.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2007, JibJab released an installment of their then-annual "Year in Review" videos, which was set to the tune of "We Didn't Start the Fire".

In 2013, YouTuber Dane Boedigheimer, known as the creator of the popular comedic web series Annoying Orange, produced a parody as part of YouTube's Comedy Week titled "We Didn't Start the Viral", although the video's audio was later replaced for copyright infringement despite being considered fair use as a work of parody.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In June 2013, Pop band Milo Greene performed a version of the song for The A.V. ClubTemplate:'s A.V. Undercover series.<ref name="undercover">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2019, talk show host Jimmy Fallon performed a version of the song for The Tonight Show, which highlights characters and moments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since Iron Man, leading to Avengers: Endgame, with backup by cast members Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Mark Ruffalo, Paul Rudd, Danai Gurira, Karen Gillan and Brie Larson.<ref name="Fallon">Template:Cite episode</ref>

On June 28, 2023, Fall Out Boy released their own version of the song with updated lyrics that references events that happened from 1989 to 2023. Unlike Joel's original, Fall Out Boy's version did not list events in chronological order. On September 12, 2023, the band performed it at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The song was widely panned by fans and critics,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> especially for its lack of chronological sequencing present in Joel's original and its omission of some events and people, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic. Fall Out Boy bassist and lead songwriter, Pete Wentz, said in an interview regarding the exclusion: “It’s like, that’s all anybody talked… You know what I mean? I don’t know. It felt like there was a couple of things that felt like a little on the nose. And then there were a couple of things where it was like … Bush V. Gore, we needed the rhyme.”<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

PersonnelEdit

  • Billy Joel – vocals, clavinet, percussion
  • Liberty DeVitto – drums, percussion
  • David Brown – lead guitar
  • Joey Hunting – rhythm guitar
  • Crystal Taliefero – backing vocals, percussion
  • Schuyler Deale – bass guitar
  • John Mahoney – keyboards
  • Sammy Merendino – electronic percussion
  • Kevin Jones – keyboard programming
  • Doug Kleeger – sounds effects and arrangements

ChartsEdit

Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2

Weekly chartsEdit

Template:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chart
Weekly chart performance for "We Didn't Start the Fire"
Chart (1989–1990) Peak
position
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 21
Japan (Oricon)<ref name="Oricon">Template:Cite book</ref> 11
Switzerland Airplay (Schweizer Hitparade)<ref name="MM-1989-11-11">Template:Cite journal</ref> 3
Chart (2019–2023) Peak
position
US Rock Digital Song Sales (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 17
US Rock Streaming Songs (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 18

Template:Col-2

Year-end chartsEdit

Template:Single chart
1989 year-end chart performance for "We Didn't Start the Fire"
Chart (1989) Position
Australia (ARIA)<ref name="ausye">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

37
Belgium (Ultratop)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

65
UK Singles (OCC)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 53
Template:Single chart
1990 year-end chart performance for "We Didn't Start the Fire"
Chart (1990) Position
Germany (Media Control)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

31
US Billboard Hot 100<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 35

Template:Col-end

CertificationsEdit

Template:Certification Table Top Template:Certification Table Entry Template:Certification Table Entry Template:Certification Table Entry Template:Certification Table Entry Template:Certification Table Entry Template:Certification Table Entry Template:Certification Table Entry Template:Certification Table Bottom

Release historyEdit

Release dates and formats for "We Didn't Start the Fire"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Template:Abbr
United Kingdom September 18, 1989 Template:Hlist CBS <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
September 25, 1989 Cassette <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Japan November 9, 1989 Mini-CD CBS/Sony citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

In popular cultureEdit

In 2021, a weekly podcast began, hosted by Katie Puckrik and Tom Fordyce, entitled We Didn't Start the Fire. Each week they examine a subject mentioned in the Billy Joel song, in lyric order, and discuss its importance and cultural significance with an expert guest.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In The Simpsons episode "Gump Roast", a parody of the song "They'll Never Stop the Simpsons" is played at the end of the episode, recounting past plots and possible ideas for future plots.

The song features prominently, along with a number of other Billy Joel songs, in the streaming series The Boys from Amazon Prime in which the character Hughie Campbell, played by Jack Quaid, has a preoccupation with the American singer.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In the Veep series finale "Veep", the song plays as Selina Meyer and Jonah Ryan are announced as their party's presidential and vice-presidential candidates for the 2020 election. This is a recall back to the episode "Mother", during which Meyer said that Billy Joel would perform at her inauguration after vote recounting in Nevada following an Electoral College tie diminished her chances of winning.

Events and people outlinedEdit

The following events and individual's names, with Joel's lyric for each appearing in bold, are listed in the order that they appear in the song, which is almost entirely chronological.<ref name="LyricsatBJ">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The lyrics for each item are minimal, and the items are punctuated by the chorus and other lyrical elements. The following list includes longer, more descriptive names for clarity. Events and names from a variety of contexts – such as popular entertainment, foreign affairs, and sports – are intermingled, giving an impression of the culture of the time as a whole. There are 118 items listed in the song.

1940sEdit

1948Edit

1949Edit

1950sEdit

1950Edit

1951Edit

1952Edit

1953Edit

|CitationClass=web }} Time: 18:50 of podcast.</ref> that Nelson Rockefeller was meant, in particular for his fame as governor of New York state. However, Nelson was governor from 1959 to 1973, whereas all other items in this verse happened in 1953.

1954Edit

1955Edit

1956Edit

1957Edit

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

1958Edit

1959Edit

1960sEdit

1960Edit

  • A U-2 spy plane flown by American CIA pilot Francis Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union, causing the U-2 Crisis of 1960. It does not refer to the band U2 which were formed in 1976.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

1961Edit

1962Edit

1963Edit

1965Edit

1968Edit

1969Edit

1970sEdit

1972–1975Edit

1976–1977Edit

1979Edit

1980sEdit

1981–1982Edit

1983Edit

1984Edit

  • Crack cocaine became a widely used form of the drug in impoverished inner cities.
  • Bernie Goetz shoots four young black men who were trying to mug him on a New York City subway train, and is acquitted of charges.

1988Edit

1989Edit

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

BibliographyEdit

External linksEdit

Template:Billy Joel Template:Authority control

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