“We Didn’t Start The Fire” Lyrics & Meaning (Billy Joel)

“Ryan started the fire!”

If you haven’t watched the US version of The Office, just ignore that line.

But if you have watched it, you surely remember Ryan’s microwave accident and Dwight’s musical summary of it.

You may also know that Dwight was referencing this big Billy Joel hit.

But you probably don’t know much about the actual We Didn’t Start The Fire lyrics meaning.

You’re not alone. The song just seems like a rapid fire recitation of various historical names and events.

But there is an actual meaning behind those lyrics. Keep reading to learn exactly what Billy Joel was saying, in what has become one of his most recognizable and enduring hits.

 

We Didn’t Start The Fire Lyrics And Meaning

Billy Joel released We Didn’t Start the Fire as a single in September of 1989. He also included the song on his album Storm Front, which he released a month later.

The song stands out because of its fast-paced lyrics that include brief references to 118 significant political, cultural, scientific, and sporting events. The verses are basically a stream-of-consciousness list of events.

Joel lists the events more or less in chronological order, with the earliest having taken place in the year of his birth (1949), and the latest in the current year (the current year at the time he wrote the song, so 1989).

Reviews were mixed when the song was released, with some critics seeing it as nothing more than a list of events.

But other critics loved the song and fans seemed to primarily fall on that side. The song made it all the way to the top spot on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and up to number 7 on the UK Singles Chart. 

These days, there are still some critics who consider it a bad song. It has even been included on some lists of the worst songs of all time. Billy Joel himself does not consider it an overly great song.

But We Didn’t Start the Fire endured and has become a hugely influential song that is now seen as a classic. We even included it in our list of the best songs with fire in the title.  The lyrics have prompted discussions about history, politics, and social issues.

The song has been used as a cultural reference point in various movies, television shows, and other forms of media. Any fan of The Simpsons or the US version of The Office knows what I’m talking about.

Despite the song becoming entrenched in popular culture, few actually know what it is about. Is it really just a random list of events in between a catchy chorus, or is there more to the We Didn’t Start The Fire lyrics meaning?

There is more to it. Joel was making a statement with the song. One that could be just as appropriate and timely today. Let’s take a look at the lyrics in full, before we get into their meaning.

 

We Didn’t Start The Fire Lyrics

Verse 1

Harry Truman, Doris Day
Red China, Johnnie 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

Chorus

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

Verse 2

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

Chorus

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

Verse 3

Little Rock, Pasternak
Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Zhou En-lai
Bridge On The River Kwai
Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle
California baseball
Starkweather Homicide
Children of Thalidomide
Buddy Holly, Ben-Hur
Space Monkey, Mafia
Hula Hoops, Castro
Edsel is a no-go
U-2, Syngman Rhee
Payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, Psycho
Belgians in the Congo

Chorus

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

Verse 4

Hemingway, Eichmann
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?

Chorus

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

Verse 5

Birth control, Ho Chi Minh
Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock
Watergate, punk rock
Begin, Reagan, Palestine
Terror on the airline
Ayatollahs 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

Chorus

We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
But when we are gone
It will still burn on, and on
And on, and on

Outro

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
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
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
We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning

 

We Didn’t Start The Fire Meaning

Billy Joel has described himself as a history nut, so a song consisting primarily of historically significant events makes a lot of sense for him. But he didn’t write the song to show off his knowledge of history.

He wrote We Didn’t Start The Fire as a response to the idea that his generation was responsible for various societal issues.

The chorus emphasizes that all of the events happened on the previous generation’s watch. Therefore, you can not blame the current generation for the current state of the world.

We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning

Moreover, the world has always been is a bad state in many ways, so the previous generation is also not to blame for all of the problems.

The next three lines of the chorus then add that the world will continue to have issues.

But when we are gone
It will still burn on, and on
And on, and on

As for the historical references that Joel makes in the song, they are all events or circumstances (often disturbing ones) that defined his lifetime, beginning the year he was born and ending the year he wrote the song.

Some examples are Harry Truman’s presidency, the Cold War, the Space Race, the civil rights movement, rock and roll, the Vietnam War, the rise of television, and the Watergate scandal, among many, many others. The song begins with Harry Truman and Doris Day, and ends with the Cola wars.

Joel simply lists off the 118 events in chronological order (more or less) and adds no judgement or any additional information whatsoever. He simply gives us a brief overview of an entire era and leaves it up to us to reflect, interpret, and/or judge the sequence of events. 

Because he includes many types of occurrences, such as political tension, outright conflicts, scientific discoveries, pop culture, and more, he paints a picture of the complexity of human society and its historical development.

It seems Joel was trying to create awareness and foster critical thinking about the events that took place within the specific timeframe of his life and the impact they have on people of his generation.

Of course, that is in addition to conveying through the chorus that the current generation didn’t create the problems in the world currently, but will create future problems (boy have they ever), just like every other generation throughout history.

You could say that We Didn’t Start the Fire serves as a reminder that life (and with it bad things in the world as a whole) happens despite us, not because of us. It is an ongoing journey, and all we can do is go for the ride. How we do that is up to us. Ideally, we should make the most of the time we have.

 

We Didn’t Start The Fire Lyrics Meaning: Final Thoughts

In his hit We Didn’t Start the Fire, Billy Joel used his musical talent to present a brief history lesson of an entire era. Despite his lesson ending with the year 1989, the song is still relevant today. It reminds us of the significant events that shaped the second half of the 20th century.

More importantly, the central message of the song still resonates and will continue to do so long into the future: each generation inherits the challenges and triumphs of the previous ones, and it is up to them to confront and overcome the obstacles created.

By weaving historical events and cultural references into the lyrics, but withholding any analysis or judgement, Joel encouraged us to reflect on our own experiences and consider our roles in the larger context of history.

For a similar breakdown of another song from the 80s, albeit the other end of the decade and only indirectly influenced by current events, check out our article discussing the Toto Africa lyrics meaning here.