BILLY JOEL - WE DIDNT START THE FIRE | REACTION
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- čas přidán 12. 07. 2023
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There are 119 historical references in this song. Britannica (the encyclopedia) has a link online that goes over every one of them called "All 119 References in “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” explained" They all happened between the years that Billy Joel was alive, up until the point of release of this song, so 1949 to 1989. Piano Man was released in 1973, this song was released in 1989, so Piano Man was definitely first. The point of this song is just to say basically, "Sh&t happens in every year and generation."
Very cool! I never heard of that. I’ll have to check that out.
Exactly everyone blames the generation before it. He is saying we didn’t start this it has always been going on.
Important to note, though, not all the references are negative.
@@rickf4545 Agreed. Some of the references are just to popular bands and actors. Some of the references are to milestones in science and history (whether good or bad). Sh&t happens.
Have to listen to it more than once to catch all the words!
All the events are listed in chronological order from 1949 to 1989. It's making the point that the world has always been fucked up, although every generation thinks that they have it the worst.
Great definition for this song.
Exactly, couldn't have been said any better. I was going to reply but you said exactly what I would have said.
Not all in 100% chronological order JD Rockefeller did in 1937, yet he is mentioned long after Marilyn Monroe, who is mentioned in verse one and didn't start acting until the late 40s and a became household name in the 50s.
@@gamexsimmonds3581 He's not talking about JD Rockefeller. He's referring to the Arkansas Governor's (Winthrop Rockefeller) divorce to Barbara Sears in 1954 which at the time caused a massive media frenzy.
@@billmuller1469 Darn, I didn't know that, still not in 100% chronological order
Billy’s message with this song: The world’s a mess, it’s always been a mess and its always going to be a mess. These are the headlines from Billy’s first 40 years of life. 1949-1989.
But it's NOT all about a "MESS" he mentions, great events, popular movies, toys, sports figures, Elvis, The Beatles, movie stars, political figures, TV shows, Disneyland, books....it's not all about conflicts. Just a lot of the different things that were popular, news worthy, events (WOODSTOCK) and conflicts.
@@patticrichton1135 very true, but I have heard him describe the song as trying to relay that message. It’s his response to Sean Lennon’s friend saying nothing ever happened when Billy was growing up. So I guess he chose to include everything. Makes for a much less depressing song and educating. I’m only 12 years younger than Billy and I had to look up a number of things. Lol
@@andy-utop here’s a direct quote from Billy. As Billy Joel told biographer Fred Schruers, he wrote “We Didn’t Start the Fire” in an attempt to get young people to put the world events of the day in the proper historical context. After all, no matter how bad things seem now, humanity has survived all the dramatic world events from the past. "What does the song really mean? Is it an apologia for the baby boomers? No, it's not. It's just a song that says the world's a mess. It's always been a mess, it's always going to be a mess." Given the state of the word in the 2020s, that is a message that remains valuable to this day.
It's what we lived through during that time period too. Culture wars, famous people, we lived through those years. Not much has changed. People are trying to put out fires that flare up in society
Billy Joel was inspired to write this song when Sean Lennon (John Lennon's son) whose was young at the time... came into his studio with a friend and was talking to Joel about how his generation had so many problems and Billy Joel's didn't . Billy Joel, then wrote this song about his generation as a response!
Thank you for saying what you said. I knew there was a story along the line that politically his songs weren't ever him taking a side. You stated it way better than I did. Thanks.
O.M, G That's my daughter blaming us "boomers' for everything.
Everything he mentions, happened in his lifetime it is a history lesson
In order, no less.
Good, bad, political, sports, pop culture, lifestyle, he pretty well covered an entire generation.
@@WinteryMix84 sure did
Baby boomers time
@@brianfite4740 yeah, that's what a lot of people miss. The whole song is a chronological listing listing of first page headline material since he was born. And, he made it all rhyme.
Piano Man was way before this! This was all the events that happened from the time Billy was born until the year this came out.
I had a HS history teacher use this song for major events. We had to categorize each line by decade and it's significance. One of the most memorable lessons that will stick with me forever. Love your content!
I had a teacher do the same thing, but a different student had to do a report on each line and present it and that’s what we did the whole semester. 119 in all.
Everything he named in the song had a significant impact on culture, politics and history from the year Billy was born (right after WWII) through the year he wrote the song (around 1989), and it's chronological. People have put together articles where they explain each reference and name in a list. Yeah, it's worth reading about. Interesting reaction. Thanks for checking this out.
Not 100% chronological. "JFK, blown away" happened in 1963.
@@crofootski Yes, and every event referenced before it predates Nov. 22, 1963. You may be using the wrong event that relates to particular things or a later point in something ongoing, (e.g. Beatlemania may have peaked in 1964, but it started in 1962).
Goodnight Saigon is the best! He always had veterans at every concert singing the chorus. 😊
One of his best
Such a tragic, pointless war.
“Scenes in an Italian Restaurant” is an Awesome early Billy! It’s like a cross between Beatles Sargeant Peppers era, and Queen Bohemian Rhapsody’s multiple sounds in one track!
I believe this song was inspired by a conversation he had with John Lennon's son Sean and a friend of Sean's. The friend said something like "Well, life was just simpler when you were younger. You didn't have these constant daily crises like we do now"...Joel was thinking: "It's always been constant daily crises"...
And it still is...
This is the story behind the song.
czcams.com/video/Dx3T8pbDcms/video.html
That makes sense
Us baby boomers can really relate to this having lived through the events of post WW II. It’s about good and evil and a reminder that when evil things are going on there are always people who try to correct them and bring change. You should really read the full lyrics of the song to appreciate the real message. Thanks for your reaction to this. 👏👏
I always took the song as a defense of the Baby Boomers, who were taking a lot of heat at the time, in US politics and the culture.
@@Tijuanabill It can be that too, there has been a lot of horrible times through out the world's history, and much worse than the times he is speaking of from '49-'89 ( I am a "Boomer" too, post World War II baby, born in '47) as he sings, "it was ALWAYS burning since the "WORLD'S BEEN TURNING"
@@patticrichton1135 The problem is the Silent Gen still has too much power over the country.
Billy Joel’s, “River of Dreams,” is my favorite song from his later years!
These are newspaper headlines from when he was young up until he wrote the song
If you want another great Billy Joel song to react try "Keepin the Faith"
you don't have to apologize for stopping and looking it up. Man, i wanted to understand this song so bad when i was 13 and i didnt have any way to find out what is really happening here.
Billy was born in 1949 and had turned 40 years old in 1989 at the time that he wrote this song.
He had been talking to some at the time twentysomethings, who had said that it was an exciting time in history for them to be young, what with the Cold War coming to an end. Billy agreed and said he felt the same when he was their age, to which one of them said it was not really the same thing though, as nothing of note had happened when Billy was younger. He asked if he was kidding and then rattled off a few key things in response.
Then later on as more of a mental exercise, he began to list the key events and people over the course of his 40 years and somehow manage to get it in chronological order and to rhyme and scan well too. He then set it to music, using the melody to the chorus from an earlier country song that he never released. The lyrics to the chorus are basically saying that every generation blames the one before for the world's problems, but it is a cycle that repeats itself and will do forever.
He usually writes the music first and then the lyrics, which is why he does not musically like this song after he did it the other way around.
actually it was his daughter billy was talking too so he {BILLY] wrote the song to hr
@@selmaroberson4447 Sorry, not meaning to be rude here but that is actually not the case.
As touched o previously, this song was written in 1949 when Billy turned 40. His daughter Alex would have been around 4-5 years old back then.
It was actually Sean Lennon and a friend of his that Billy was talking to, and I might have from memory got some of the finer detail wrong, such as the twentysomethings part, but they were a younger generation to Billy anyway and so perhaps teenagers instead.
I would imagine though that Billy would more likely be having a conversation back then about the Cold War coming to an end with teenagers, rather than a child barely past toddler age.
@@seanscanlon9067 you told me billy wrote that song in 1949 well why was the song released in the 90,s doesn,t make any sense just saying
@@selmaroberson4447 You have inadvertently misunderstood what I wrote, which is fair enough and easily done.
What I said was:
"Billy was born in 1949 and had turned 40 years old in 1989 at the time that he wrote this song".
Billy was a baby in 1949 and the events and people in the song start from that year being the year that he was born, and end in 1989 (rather than the 90s) and cover Billy turning 40 years old in 1989.
So turning 40 in 1989 was when he wrote, recorded and released the song.
@@selmaroberson4447 He made a mistake, Billy Joel was BORN in 1949, no way a infant wrote the song! LOL It was RELEASED in 1989 when Billy was 40.
John Lennon, of The Beatles, was assassinated, in NY, in early 80's. It was a huge deal. Lohn Lennon had a son Sean who was now a young man. Billy and Sean were talking and Sean said that things were so much easier in Billys days. Billy put together current event titles, political scandal, war, happiness, young love etc. We literally did NOT start the fire" however though we didnt light it and we tried to fight it....it will still go and on and on.... "Song starts in 1949, when Billy is born. Song ends in 1989 when Michael Jackson was on side Pepsi and Bruce Springsteen rocked for Coke. Literally "rock n roller cola wars! Teachers still use😊 the breakdown of those lyrics in class. 😊
The song is saying ‘stop blaming the previous generation for the world’s problems. We didn’t start it, they were going on back then, but we’re trying to fight it.’
Piano Man was 15 years before this song. Billy Joel is a master at remaking himself. Pure talent
It’s a huge protest song. There are dozens of historic elements and photos in it. Combined with some actors (like Lucy, not Lucy an actress) it’s a deep song which takes a lot of thinking but in an upbeat danceable tune. It’s from a different era which makes it difficult for someone not versed in the history of the day. It’s from my time so I recognize most of his references. It’s a powerful tune with deep serious meanings and worthy of a deep dive. Help from an older person or if someone dissected the song like a documentary will be a helluva history lesson. Actually you did a good reaction. It’s a disturbing song and that’s the intention. Back story will help. Billy is of Armenian decent and that’s important to understand what his ancestors went through. This was way after Piano Man, that was bad info.
_"It;s a huge protest song. "_
Where did you get that idea? This is Billy's response to a 21 year old friend of Sean Lennon telling him that nothing big happened in the world in Billy's earlier years.
@WmTRiker communists always think everything relates to their imaginary revolution
It’s a history of his life’s time period up to current events. It’s everything that was occurring.
Came to say the same thing.
It's literally the big headlines throughout his life.
The video follows the life of family (his parents) from marriage to baby or two growing up to passing away.
The visuals behind him have to do the headlines and issues that were being dealt with.
The History of this song is important! The best way to Hear this masterpiece is to read lyrics, while listening for the first time. Joel is taking you on a tour of events from when he was born to when he wrote the song.
This was Not before Piano Man.
It's a history lesson through the decades! My daughters listened to this as part of their history class curriculum. Please listen to Goodnight Saigon about the Vietnam soldiers experience!
This song is a chronology of ll the major worldwide events that happened in the years from Billy Joel's birth (1949) until the song was written in 1989. Yes, that was Lucy! The song is great, as is the history lesson!
You can't go wrong with Billy Joel. Piano Man was early Billy. This is newer Billy. No, not Lucy, just an actress
Girl looks just like her!
@@MugnifyRTS she does.
@@MugnifyRTSa young Lucy. At this time Lucy was old.
@@MugnifyRTSIt was meant to look like Lucy.
Billy Joel is a brilliant song writer and singer. He is definitely worth going down the rabbit hole for.
If you would like to hear a totally FUN song of his check out: Uptown Girl
Krrp them coming dude! Billy Joel's the onky artist of whom I have heard every single song and I'll tell you. Not a single bad song!
I agree!
True. Also Stevie Wonder and Steely Dan never released a bad song!
And on top of writing some great and super smart songs, the dude could flat out play that piano. Both he & Elton John, just incredible pianists. The music just flowed out of them.
i think everybody knows now that he made this song as a response to some younger dude who told him that nothing difficult happened for the older generation.
🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
Your gonna appreciate all is incredible talent in the live version of
🎵 NEW-YORK STATES OF MIND 🎵
KEEP THE GOOD WORK MY FRIEND ✌️ 👍🏻 👏
Mug, this is just 1 POWERFUL song from the 80's. Scorpions *"Wind of Change"* , USA for Africa 🌍, Europe *"The Final Countdown"*, Phil Collins *"In the Air Tonight"* , .........
It captures the emotional whiplash of those times.
The idea behind the song/video is pointing out to older generations that the problems of _now_ (or when the song was released, anyway) weren't caused by the people who are _alive_ now. The world is on fire, burning, there are _so many_ problems, and many times the older generation would blame 'the youth' for all the problems of the world. So this brings up the whole idea "We didn't start the fire, it was always burning since the world's been turning. We didn't start the fire, we didn't light it but we're trying to fight it." In other words, the youth didn't _cause_ the problems, they didn't set the things in motion that make this world a mess, but _even though_ they didn't they're still trying to fight these issues. And later, near the end, you get the lyrics "we didn't start the fire, but when we are gone it will still burn on, and on, and on, and on..." recognizing that it would be _just as myopic_ to blame _future_ generations for the problem of the future as it is for those of the generation _before_ his to blame those of his generation. But... of course... what do we see going on? The older generation blaming the younger _again_ for the problems instead of recognizing that _they,_ the older genreation, are the reason _behind_ the current problems. Same old garbage, new generation, people never learn. This song came out in 1989, and it's _still_ relevant _now._ You could update things, include some new events that are setting the world ablaze instead, but the point remains. Honestly, I'd love to go in with this song every time some older generation folk tries to blame 'the youth' for things.
It's your wife's phone number 1 number 1 on my playlist. I love I want some more of it I like it i'm gonna get tomorrow of it
I did you ever heard that song Spring Stein Spring? Staying? Spurring stain. Spring spring stained that's a nimit of song yeah sprang sting
Its all just things, people and notable events throughout world history. It represents the breakneck pace at which things changed and occurred during the roughly half century of time the song covers.
I've always loved this song ... I'm a baby boomer. It was fascinating watching your reactions, I liked your interpretation...
Boomer here, too! Your reaction was great! No one expects to completely understand this song on the first go round. It's too complex. Maybe on your 50th turn! 😅❤
Written by Billy Joel. Produced by him and Mick Jones. 1949 to 1989. Thus, 50 years of history. Parts recorded in Little Mountain ⛰ Sound Studios in Vancouver, Canada 🇨🇦, which is owned by Bryan Adams.
Suggested video 📹: 1 Billy Joel sings I Go to Extremes 2 Billy Joel sings Tell Her about It
_"This was made before Piano Man"_
Uh, no. "Piano Man" is from the album of the same name and was released in 1973. "We Didn't Start the Fire" was originally released as a single and then on the "Storm Front" album16 years later (1989).
And, no, not a slave picture, that's a picture from the Viet Nam war of an American soldier "strung up" by the Viet Namese. Cameras didn't exist when slavery existed in this country (at least, not cameras of that quality).
Note that this song chronicles major events, people and places that occurred during Billy's lifetime.It starts with Harry Truman who was President when Billy was born in 1949 and works its way progressively through time culminating with "China's under Marshall law" and "rock and roller cola wars", events from 1989 when the song came out.
Thanks for correcting me
Martial. Martial law.
Lol an American soldier??? Unbelievable
WmTRiker, no a photo of an American soldier strung up to a tree. It's the famous (and tragic) Lynching of Robert McDaniels (1937). Learn history, Mugnify. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching_of_Roosevelt_Townes_and_Robert_McDaniels
The photo is actually from the lynching of a black man accused of killing a white in Mississippi in the 1930s.
It was titled Death Slump at Mississippi Lynching and was part of a photo exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1955.
There was a great podcast built around this song with each episode being one of the references in the song. They even got Billy to come on for an interview in one of the episodes.
It's not that complicated. He summarizes U.S. history from about 1950 to 1988. It includes major events and popular culture.
This came after Piano Man. Piano man was from 1970s.
I think he's just going down the decades listing all the things that were good and all the things that were bad about each, all worth remembering, with the point being that this is how things have always been and will always be, a combo of good and bad because we are human.
My Life by Billy Joel is worth listening to:)
A mixture of cultural, political and historical references across time.
Billy Joel has so many great hits. Please check out “Prelude/angry young man”. There’s videos of him performing it in concert and it is mind blowing to see him play the piano in that song.
One of the greatest songs ever written. It's even taught in schools.
Takes a number of listens to catch all the words. It's all the events from his time. Clever stuff.
This song is so awesome, one of my favs from billy joel❤
There has been war after war since the begining of time. Each of those was a headline in his lifetime. This is a musical time capsule!
He took the newspapers since the day was born and took the main headings of all the papers and put it into a song
Very 80s . Hidden shock value. Poppy and easy to listen to but then you get that feeling like damn he said that....
It’s chaotic, because that’s what the time felt like… little did we know it would be 3 times worse now, LOL MAYBE 10 times worse!
Yes! This is a history lesson! We really let our idealism lead us to think things were gonna change.
Another great song in this vein is R. E. M.'s End of the World.
Hearing this song again kind of hurts my heart. Not a damn thing has changed.
It's definitely thought provoking for sure
Released when I was in 6th grade. Cool kids didn't think I knew the words so I sung them infront of class and dropped their jaws.
Back then you got the tape and the lyrics were inside the cover. History got me wanting to learn the names.
Billy's point is that people have been doing shitty things since time began. He's touching on events during his lifetime.
I used to watch his video “Keepin The Faith”, with my son and try to spot all the cameos. Like this song it has a lot of depth to it I think you would enjoy it.
He was one of the first 🎉preformers to sing in russia in the 1980s my wife went to Lehigh Russian studies 5:47 5:51 5:53 in her junior year the class visited Russia was one of the highlights of her life Wild bill
The video also draws the picture of the world 'burning' with conflict, injustice and social issues while this family is living its daily life oblivious to the world's problems. It also conveys the message that the family's life is interconnected with the world's issues (their house is burning down by the flames of the world's problems). Nobody is truely isolated from the rest of the world and its problems.
Easily one of the best songs ever written.. people may not like tbe music but you cant deny the lyrics and the point
I will always remember it as the song even Bernie Goetz (the NYC Subway Vigilante shooter from Dec 1984) got a "shout out". Also the first disturbing image in the video which had you shook was not of a slave, but an actual historical photo of a lynching in the South. The second disturbing image was the infamous photo of a North Vietnamese Officer being executed in Saigon by a South Vietnamese General during the Tet Offensive in Feb 1968.
Billy Joel grew up in the 1950s. At some point, a guy from a younger generation told him that the world was a mess, not like the nice world Billy Joel grew up in. Joel told him the world was plenty messed up then, too.
So he wrote this song, listing the political upheaval in the world, contrasted with pop culture trends, from the time of his birth to the time he wrote this song.
Just actors to represent the era of history. You go through several decades in this song
Some younger person commented that nothing much had happened when he was growing up. He was miffed and Voila "We Didn't Start the Fire."
None of us are responsible for the events before we were born. We just have to start where we are and do what we can to make the world better.
He’s singing history really, and that his generation didn’t start all the bad things.
He’s chronologically listing history!
Its things thats happened through the years. Its the wicked world of humans destroying each other and the fire of life thats been burning from day one. If you google the album its off the lyrics are there and it gives the years the events happened as it goes. You gotta be old enough to remember them in the news
Apparently as I have read recently Billy met a 21 year old and said to Billy that life sucks at 21 And billy agreed he said that at 21 his life sucked too. Then the young man said huh so what was going on for you then. With that he began mentioning the boar war and Vietnam and other things. That was the beginning of we didn’t start the fire. True story ❤❤❤
U nailed it immediately, he references 119 historical world events….he’s basically saying “we didn’t make this mess, it’s been goin on for decades”
A whole history lesson!
He references 119 historical figures/events from the time he was born up until the time of writing the song….this song is genius
He means that all the chaos in the world was started by everyone before us and we are trying to stop it. We didn't start this but we are trying to fight it.
I love it when I love a topic enough to comment on it. Then I get here and find tons of people have already said my comment many times over lol. So I'll just leave this here for the algorithm. 😊
It’s basically a summary of historical events broken down by decades.
River of Dreams is another fabulous song by him!
This song always reminds me of that quote from Star Trek Generations, "Time is the fire in which we all burn."
When I was in high school back in 1990 (I think that was the year), my history teacher made us study this song in class, which had just come out, so we could learn about major events in history. Kind of a fun way to learn.
I respect the research. You made it more interesting.
Start at the beginning. I'm 55. Been listening all my life thanks to my parents, moving out
Billy always said he didnt like video with music. He wasnt an actor, but he was a show man for sure.
He felt the words make a different picture in each persons mind and experience. I grew up without music videos and seeing his music now in this format doesn’t add to it for me. Finding experience meeting music in our own mind's eye is powerful.
What an epic history lesson!
The picture of the black man is from Life Magazine 1937. It is a photo of a lynching.
So fun to watch young people listen to music.
Through out history; the more things change, the more they stay the same.
It kinda helps to be a bit older to get the impact from these rapid-fire references without having to look them up... He's not saying any of them are bad or good, necessarily. Just that they make up the crazy flood of history we all surfed down.
Historical events that keep the fire burning.
This song is like a history lesson.
As others have said, Billy Joel went through historical events during his lifetime up until then, Fall Out Boy have recently released a cover covering stuff '89-2023, if you're interested in a version that you can probably relate to a bit more..
It's all history that he witnessed during his life
exactly my brother.
this is str8 BARS.-
Enjoyed the reaction
Some reactions are thinking he’s rapping about the time he’s was born, growing up,…events that have happened. Everyone goes through it.❤
"We" is the Baby Boomers. "We didn't light it, but we tried to fight it" is the lyric you're trying to figure out.
When he shows the picture of the Black man tied up he’s saying we didn’t start this (as in our generation) but we DID try to fight it.
going through history man!!!!!!
Understanding your past ,explains the future
This song came out when I was a kid. I was scared that Russia and USA would have a nuclear war, I was 8, and the world’s still burning. I love that younger people like you are getting this. If we forget….?!
Maybe it is because it’s always burning. Relevant then and today and 20 years from now.
Adding on to other comments, this song is also a time capsule of the world events that happened during Billy's lifetime.
They are actors reminding you of Lucy & other stuff he is talking about... some good things & some bad things around the world. And yes, it is political. It was a metaphor for the constant chaos in the world.
I felt like that but it damn show had me confused