BILLY JOEL'S

WE DIDN'T
START THE
FIRE
AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS

PROJECT BY LAURA HUGGINS

 BACKGROUND
"We Didn't Start the Fire" was written and
performed by Billy Joel
to be released on his
album "Storm Front" in 1989.
The song was written in
response to a
conversation that Joel
had with 21 year old
Sean Lennon who tried
to explain how strange it
was to live through his
own time and
generation.

By listing various major historical figures that

existed and events that occured throughout the
various decades of his life, Joel argues that every
era was very significant, and that previous
generations likely had just as many struggles.

The title and repeated lyric "We didn't start the

fire" imply that no one generation caused the
ceaseless chaos of living in our world, but rather
that problems and major events were "always
burning since the world's been turning," or have
existed since the beginning of time.
 LYRICS
Form:
The song alternates verse-chorus five times, and then the
chorus is repeated approximately four times as an outro.
This enforces the idea of the fire that never stops burning by
offering a lengthy and redundant song that repeats itself
regularly in a consistent and predictable format. Events like
the ones Billy Joel mentions have occurred since the
beginning of time, and will continue to occur for years to
come in the same repetitive nature of the piece.

Chorus Meaning
We (Billy Joel's generation) did not cause the issues and
circumstances that the next generation was forced to endure.

We didn't start the fire These kinds of issues have existed as long as our world
It was always buring has existed

Since the world's been turning

We didn't start the fire Not only did Joel's generation not cause these ceaseless
No we didn't light it global issues, but they actually tried, albeit often
unsuccessfully, to solve the issues that existed before
But we tried to fight it them

Rhyme Scheme- ABBACC

This simple, short verse with an easy, repetitive rhyme just works to enforce the idea of
the fire that still burns as the world turns. Issues and significant characters and
circumstances have existed since the beginning of time and will always exist- these are
not new or unique to a certain generation or era.
 THE VERSES
Billy Joel wanted to emphasize the point that significant events have always
occurred in the world by listing several major occurrences of his lifetime. He

begins the first verse with significant happenings of 1949- the year of his
birth, and continues chronologically through his lifetime, concluding the
last verse with events of 1989- the year that this song was published.

Year/Verse equivalencies and notable lyric meanings

Verse I- 1949-1952
"Harry Truman"- first lyric- this president was
inaugurated for his second term in 1949
"H-Bomb"- the hydrogen bomb was developed
in 1951
"Vaccine-" the second polio dose was tested in
1952
"England's got a new queen-" Elizabeth II took
the throne in 1952
Verse III- 1957-1960
"Sputnik"- The USSR launched this satellite in 1957
"Starkweather Homicide"- Charles Starkweather
committed eleven murders over two months in
1958, serving as the basis for many crime films
"Buddy Holly"- This singer died in 1959
"Psycho"- This Alfred Hitchcock film was released
in 1960

Verse II- 1953-1956 Verse IV- 1961-1963

"Joseph Stalin"- Stalin died in 1953 "Dylan"- Bob Dylan signed with Columbia records
"Einstein"- Albert Einstein died in 1955 in 1961
"Ole Miss"- This riot occurred when segregationists
"Brooklyn's got a winning team"- The Brooklyn
were displeased with the integration of the
Dodgers won the World Series in 1955 University of Mississippi in 1962
"Peyton Place"- This novel, published in 1956, "John Glenn"- John Glenn was the first American
dealt with "shocking" themes of promiscuity. to orbit the Earth in 1962

"J.F.K. blown away"- this bizarrely insensitive lyric
refers to the assassination of John F Kennedy in
1963
Verse V- 1964-1989

"Birth Control"- contraceptives first became widely available in the mid-1960s

"Terror on the airline"- Multiple airplane hijackings occurred in the late 1970s
"AIDS"- HIV was determined to be the cause of this disease in 1983
"Rock and Roller cola wars"- Coke and Pepsi each started ad campaigns against the other brand
in 1989

Why does the fifth verse cover a much larger

span of time?
While verses 1-4 each cover around 3-4 years of events, the fifth verse covers 25. This could have
been intentional to accentuate the idea that these events have been occurring ceaselessly since
the beginning of time. The first four verses demonstrate that several historical events can occur
over the span of just a few years, whereas the last verse demonstrates that these historical events
are not specific to just a few close years, but continue to occur over larger timespans. The world
does continue to turn, and the "fire" continues to "burn."

 Intertextuality
This song has a very bright, full timbre that matches the
standard rock/pop feel of this song, but offers stark contrast
to the lyrics that mention many serious issues of diseases,
murders, wars, and riots.

This strange contrast is further accentuated by the novelty

layer present in this song. The song opens with a "woosh,"
almost sounding like an airplane taking off. This is followed
by the cheering of a crowd, and then the "bang" of a gunshot
or firework. Later, when Joel mentions that "Brooklyn's got a
winning team" in the second verse, a crowd is briefly heard
cheering once more. These sounds added often feel a little
satirical and "joking," and quite out of place in a rock song,
especially one that discusses such serious topics.

This bright, "happy-sounding" timbre and the additional

novelty sounds contrasting the often-dark lyrics cause the
song to feel almost satirical and mocking. Joel may be
mocking Lennon's feelings that his generation is living
through a strange time. It's almost as if the entire song is a
mocking, sarcastic retort demonstrating how significant, and
often grave, the events before Lennon's time were.
 HARMONY
"We Didn't Start the Fire" is written in the key of G major. This
major key further supports the idea of satire and mockery by

creating a juxtaposition between a key that many western

cultures associate with a more "happy" feeling with the often
dark lyrics.

The song is written with a chord

loop of I-V-vi-IV

G - D - Em - C
The repitition of these chords feels ceaseles,
almost without ultimate direction. Thesong
ending on a fade-out rather than with a
distinct I chord furthers this feeling. This
ultimately reflects the feeling that this song
conveys about lacking in conclusion- the "fire"
continues to burn on as major events happen
in the world. It is repetitive and ceaseless, just
like the song and the chords within.
 CONCLUSION
"We Didn't Start the Fire" was written with the
intention of conveying the idea that major
historical events have occurred since the
beginning of time and will continue to occur
through the end of the time.

The "happy" feelings presented in the harmony

and with textural layers offer contrast to the
frequently dismal topics listed, which could be
interpreted as mocking Lennon's initial feelings
that his generation was particularly historical,
and proving that previous generations were not
necessarily as "happy" as he thought they were.

Billy Joel's repetitive lyrics, harmonies, and song

form all work cohesively to convey these two
major ideas throughout the duration of the song.