We Didn't Start the Fire is a song by Billy Joel that lists 120 well-known events, people, things, and places from his lifetime, from 1949 to 1989, when the song was released on his album Storm Front. Joel explained that he wrote this song due to his interest in history. He commented that he would have wanted to be a history teacher had he not become a rock and roll singer.
Historical items referred to in the song
The lyrics of We Didn't Start the Fire are essentially a long list of specific events, names, and places. The following are the "lists" as they appear in the song's lyrics, though in the actual song they are occasionally punctuated by the chorus.
This song was very influential to American Culture at the time of its release in 1989
Criticism
Blender Magazine ranked "We Didn't Start the Fire" on its list of the "50 Worst Songs Ever". "We Didn't Start the Fire" also appeared on VH1's "50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs Ever", a collaboration with Blender.
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