Bottoms up

We Didn't Start the Fire 🔥

A pictorial chronology

Billy Joel performing on stage.

Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire is a reminder that no matter how crazy times may seem today, they have always been crazy and will continue to be crazy as long as life continues to exist. It is a living time capsule, reminding us of foregone political and cultural events. Explore the lyrics to the song below!

Verse 1: 1949 - 52

  1. Harry Truman Man holds newspaper that declares 'Dewey Defeats Truman' Doris Day Doris Day smiling Red China China in 1949 Johnnie Ray Johnnie Ray publicity photo South Pacific South Pacific the Musical Walter Winchell Walter Winchell in front of a microphone. Joe DiMaggio Joe DiMaggio portrait
  2. Joe McCarthy Man holds newspaper that declares 'McCarthyism is treason to America' Richard Nixon Richard Nixon portrait Studebaker Studebaker car in 1939 Television Early home television North Korea North Korea missle crisis South Korea South Korean war. Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe portrait
  3. Rosenbergs Julius and Ethel Rosenberg H-Bomb Thermonuclear weapon explosion Sugar Ray Sugar Ray the boxer. Panmunjom Panmunjom signature of armistice Brando Marlon Brando The King and I The King and I musical - 1951. The Catcher in the Rye The Catcher in the Rye. A classic American novel.
  4. Eisenhower Eisenhower portrait Vaccine The polio vaccine England's Got a New Queen Queen Elizabeth II Marciano Rocky Marciano Liberace Liberace in concert Santayana goodbye George Santayana

[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: 1953 - 56

  1. Joseph Stalin Joseph Stalin Malenkov Georgy Malenkov Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Prokofiev Sergei Prokofiev Rockefeller Winthrop Rockefeller Campanella Roy Campanella Communist Bloc Communist Bloc military formation
  2. Roy Cohn Roy Cohn Juan Perón Juan Perón in his office. Toscanini Arturo Toscanini Dacron Dacron the miracle fiber Dien Bien Phu Falls Foreign Legion against the Viet Minh and disaster at Dien bien Phu Rock Around the Clock Bill Haley - Rock Around The Clock
  3. Einstein Albert Einstein James Dean James Dean portrait Brooklyn's Got a Winning Team The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in the 1955 World Series Davy Crockett Davy Crockett Peter Pan Peter Pan the Musical Elvis Presley Elvis Presley portrait. Disneyland Disneyland in 1955
  4. Bardot Brigitte Bardot Budapest Hungarian Revolution 1956 Alabama Rosa Parks Khrushchev Nikita Khrushchev Princess Grace Princess Grace of Monaco in her Dior gown Peyton Place Peyton Place novel Trouble in the Suez Suez Crisis 1956

[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: 1957 - 1960

  1. Little Rock Desegregation at Little Rock Pasternak Boris Pasternak Mickey Mantle Mickey Mantle portrait Kerouac Jack Kerouac Sputnik Sputnik Chou En-Lai Chou En-Lai standing in front of a building. Bridge on the River Kwai The bridge on the River Kwai poster
  2. Lebanon US Marines in Beirut during the 1958 Lebanon crisis Charles de Gaulle Charles de Gaulle California Baseball Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles Starkweather Homicide Charles Starkweather Children of Thalidomide Child affected by Thalidomide
  3. Buddy Holly Buddy Holly portrait Ben-Hur Ben-Hur the movie. Space Monkey Able monkey in space Mafia Vito Genovese Hula hoops Child playing with a Hula Hoop Castro Fidel Castro Edsel is a no-go 1959 Ford Edsel ad
  4. U-2 U-2 the plane Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee Payola Payola scandal newspaper headline Kennedy John F. Kennedy Chubby Checker Chubby Checker Psycho PSYCHO Movie Still. Belgians in the Congo Belgian Troops Return From 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: 1961 - 63

  1. Hemingway Ernest Hemingway Eichmann Adolf Eichmann Strangers in a strange land Flag of Mars Stranger in a Strange Land Dylan Bob Dylan Berlin The Berlin wall Bay of Pigs invasion Bay of Pigs invasion
  2. Lawrence of Arabia Lawrence of Arabia British Beatlemania 50 Years Of Beatlemania Ole Miss Ole Miss' Integration John Glenn John Glenn 1921-2016 Liston beats Patterson Sonny Liston boxing
  3. Pope Paul Pope Paul VI Malcolm X Malcolm X British politician sex A Cold War SEX SCANDAL that involved a Soviet Spy JFK blown away John F. Kennedy What else do I have to say? New York Times JFK Assassination Headline

[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: 1965-89

  1. Birth control Birth Control / Contraception Ho Chi Minh Ho Chi Minh with children Richard Nixon back again Nixon parade Moonshot John F. Kennedy moonshot speech Woodstock Woodstock: 3 days of peace and love Watergate The Watergate Complex from the air Punk rock Punk rock forever.
  2. Begin Israeli prime minister Begin. Reagan President Reagan Palestine Conflict in Palestine Terror on the airline Plane hijackings Ayatollah's in Iran Iranian revolution Russians in Afghanistan soviet invasion of afghanistan
  3. Wheel of Fortune Wheel of Fortune studio set 1975 Sally Ride Astronaut Sally K. Ride Heavy metal suicide Ozzy Osbourne 1982 Foreign debts US Public Debt 1940-2012 Homeless Vets Homeless person in New York City AIDS ACT UP Silence=Death poster Crack Crack cocaine rocks Bernie Goetz NYC Subway R46 car interior circa 1981
  4. Hypodermics on the shore Hypodermic needle on beach China's under martial law Goddess of Democracy replica Rock and Roller Cola Wars New Coke can 1985
  5. I can't take it anymore! Burning fire flame

[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

All credit to Billy Joel 🤘