We Didn't Start the Fire

Whether you are a Billy Joel fan or not, you probably remember this song, 'We Didn't Start the Fire.'
Never could understand all the references in Billy Joel's song -- now fortunately, with this video, we can "see" what our "ears" couldn't.
Apparently, it's Joel's homage to the historical headlines since his birth (1949). Wish we could have appreciated the depths of this song when it was released. Decades later, it's amazing what Joel was able to put into music and lyrics lasting only a few minutes.
Here it is, set to pictures. It's an interesting flashback through the past half century. Turn up volume, sit back and enjoy a review of 50 years of history in less than 3 minutes, thanks to Billy Joel and some guy from the University of Chicago with a lot of spare time and Google.


Top left gives you full screen ... top right lets you pause. Bottom left shows the year.
The older you are, the more pictures you will recognize. Anyone over age 65 should remember over 90% of what they see, but it's great at any age.


Click here:

http://yeli.us/Flash/Fire.html

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wombat2u2004

[B][SIZE="4"][COLOR="Red"]
Never could understand all the references in Billy Joel's song -- now fortunately, with this video, we can "see" what our "ears" couldn't.

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Really Wom, you didn't get it earlier? The lyrics have been available for years.

I've seen this many, many times, and love it each time. Sometimes I just go find it to watch it over again.

I think the artistic creativity of Joel is amazing; not only to research all the "events," but then to put them together in a song with rhymes, and rhythms! AND in historical order!

Thanks, Wombat.

Neat!

I never saw this before.

Cool, gave me a bad case of eye strain with these old eyes but it was nice to see!

I didn't see it before. It's done really well! :)

Did anyone see that when you "pause" the clip, then click on the picture, it will take you to the "wiki" page of the subject.

Very cool.

I love this song!



Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnny 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 Prokofiov
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, Chou 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

U2, 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 Beatle mania
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...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Twisterdog

I love this song!



U2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the Congo

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U2 the band?;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Freedom

Really Wom, you didn't get it earlier? The lyrics have been available for years.

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I wouldn't have paid any attention to the song years ago anyway...I never liked Billy Joel until quite recently. ;)

Very well done. I was always sort of proud that I knew MOST of these events/people. Judging from the time frame I'd say it wasn't U2 the band. LOL! I've liked Billy Joel off and on. Loved "The Stranger" but I'm a NYer so you sort of have too. LOL! "NY State of Mind" is a favorite as well. Later stuff..mhff. So so.
Thanks for the link. Really interesting. :cool:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RICHARD

U2 the band?;)

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Um...that would be...no. Francis Gary Powers!:) (It took a minute for me too.)