We Didn't Start the Fire - Billy Joel (History Video w/Lyrics)

Details

Description

This video is a super cut of the incredible work of Matthew Manley (images, dates, and description of lyrics) and YouTuber Wildfire (video between lyrics). It is used by Historian Tom Betti in his history talks with students. He is also the host of The Pan Am Podcast. Listen to the episode where he talks about how this song was an inspiration for him being interested in history and research at an early age:

https://podcast.thepanammuseum.org/1836491/13429377-episode-40-tom-betti-and-a-rock-song-about-history

Music: We Didn't Start The Fire | Billy Joel
Video: Historic Archives 1949-1989

Song: We Didn't Start The Fire
Artist: Bill Joel
Album: Storm Front
Original Release Date: September 27, 1989
Copyright: 1989 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

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

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

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

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

Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Zhou Enlai, 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

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

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?

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

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

Like this video? Like and subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

Visit Us for More Pan Am History: https://www.thepanammuseum.org

Donate to the Museum and Become a Member: https://www.thepanammuseum.org/support-us/#donation

Visit The Hangar, Our Online Store, for Pan Am Gear and Gifts: https://shop.thepanammuseum.org

The Pan Am Podcast!
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more:
https://podcast.thepanammuseum.org

Experience the legacy of the world’s most iconic airline, Pan American World Airways! The Pan Am Podcast brings Pan Am’s 64-year history to life through engaging storytelling and insightful interviews from Pan Am employees, passengers, historians, authors, fashionistas, and aviation enthusiasts!

Follow Us On:
Facebook: @PAAmuseum
Instagram: @pan.am.museum
Twitter: @PanAmMuseum
TikTok: @PanAmMuseum

The Pan Am Museum Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization.