We Didn

1
We Didnt Start the Fire

• Billy Joel

2
Lyrics

• Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie 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
  CHORUSWe didn't start the fire It was always
  burningSince the world's been turningWe didn't
  start the fireNo we didn't light itBut we tried
  to fight itJosef Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and
  Prokofiev Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc

3

• Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, DacronDien 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
  CHORUSLittle 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 goU2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy
  Chubby Checker, "Psycho", Belgians in the Congo
  CHORUSHemingway, Eichmann, "Stranger in a
  Strange Land" Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs
  Invasion  

4

• "Lawrence of Arabia", British BeatlemaniaOle
  Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson Pope
  Paul, Malcolm X, British politician sex JFK ,
  blown away, what else do I have to say
  CHORUSBirth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard
  Nixon, back againMoonshot, 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, suicideForeign 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 CHORUSWe didn't start the fireBut
  when we  are goneWill it still burn on, and on,
  and on, and on...

5
Works Cited

• Bio- Gale Reference Center. "Billy Joel." Gale
  Virtual Reference Library. N.p., 20      Mar.
  3/20/2008. Web. 14 May 2010. lthttp//galenet.galeg
  roup.com/servlet/      BioRC?vrsn149OPcontains
  locIDrich56740srchtpnameca1c1AIU13006798
  NAB      illyJoelste12tbstprptab1docNum
  K1608004365bConts59b_Personalgt
• Joe DiMaggio- "Joe DiMaggio." Wikipedia. N.p.,
  n.d. Web. 27 May 2010.      lthttp//en.wikipedia.
  org/wiki/Joe_DiMaggiogt.
• Fire- "Fire/Flame Textures." Freefoto.com. N.p.,
  n.d. Web. 1 June 2010.      lthttp//www.google.co
  m/imgres?imgurlhttp//www.freefoto.com/images/33/
  15/      33_15_57---Fire-Flame-Textures_web.jpgi
  mgrefurlhttp//www.freefoto.com/preview/
       33-15-573Fffid3D33-15-57usg__KvQ73h67YZz
  jDjoDiyJpMGXdHwQh600w400sz95h
       lenstart10um1itbs1tbnidxZOwNhz--E2Q
  FMtbnh135tbnw90prev/      images3Fq3Dfir
  e26um3D126hl3Den26safe3Dactive26rls3Dcom.m
  icrosoften-us      26tbs3Disch1gt.

6
Works Cited (cont.)

• Cold War- Miami NewTimes. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 June
  2010. lthttp//www.google.com/      imgres?imgurl
  http//blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/
       11674.jpgimgrefurlhttp//blogs.miaminewtim
  es.com/riptide/2008/08/      miami_beach_to_be_gr
  ound_zero.phpusg__gg1B54E_PULghVbCzbCusDGkQGAh
  300w400      sz20hlenstart5um1itbs1
  tbnidAWUwL6uNIM-7CMtbnh93tbnw124prev/
       images3Fq3DCold2BWar26um3D126hl3Den2
  6safe3Dactive26rls3Dcom.microsoft
       en-us26tbs3Disch1gt. \
• Eisenhower- "Dwight D. Eisenhower." The White
  House. White House, n.d. Web. 25 May 2010.
       lthttp//www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/
  dwightdeisenhowergt.
• Einstein- "Albert Einstein." Wikipedia. N.p.,
  n.d. Web. 2 June 2010.      lthttp//en.wikipedia.
  org/wiki/Albert_Einsteingt.
• Little Rock- "The Battle of Little Rock." asms.
  N.p., n.d. Web. 2 June 2010.      lthttp//asms.k1
  2.ar.us/armem/montgom/index.htmgt.
• Bay of Pigs- "The Bay of Pigs." Oracle
  Thinkquest. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 June 2010.
       lthttp//library.thinkquest.org/11046/days/ba
  y_of_pigs.htmlgt.
• JFK- "John F. Kennedy." The White House. White
  House, n.d. Web. 2 June 2010.      lthttp//www.wh
  itehouse.gov/about/presidents/johnfkennedygt.
• Watergate- What was Watergate?" Watergate.info.
  N.p., n.d. Web. 2 June 2010.      lthttp//www.wat
  ergate.info/background/gt.

7
Billy Joel Biography (L1)

• He was born William Martin Joel on May 9, 1949 in
  Bronx, New York. When he was a young child his
  family moved to Long Island. He started his piano
  lessons at age 4 and continued through the age of
  14. He has been married three times. His wives
  include Elizabeth Weber, Christie Brinkley, and
  his current wife Kate Lee. He toured with Elton
  John in 1994, 1995, and 2001. His occupations are
  singer, songwriter, and pianist (Gale Research)

Back
8
Joe DiMaggio (L2)Flashback

• Joes name was mentioned in this song because
  Billy Joel remembers watching him play. He was
  born on November 25, 1914. He was the middle of
  three brothers whom also became major league
  baseball players. Joe is probably remember for
  his 56 game hit streak which still stands today.
  He was a three time MVP and 13 time All-Star. He
  was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in
  1955. In 1969 he was declared the sports best
  living player (Wikipedia).

Back
9
Fire (L3)

• The word fire mentioned in this song is
  representing all the conflict that was going on
  during the time the song was written. There are
  many wartime references in this song. One of the
  commonly referenced conflicts in this song is the
  Cold War which pitted the US versus Russia.

Back
10
It was always burning (L4)

• This quote that was used in this song was used to
  represent that conflict was always going on and
  didnt just start in the 20th century. It shows
  that conflicts have been going on since the first
  skirmish between tribes.

Back
11
turning (L5)

• The word turning in these lyrics represent not
  when the world was first created but when humans
  had their first conflict. Since there werent any
  people when the earth was first created the
  reference to the world turning just means ever
  since humans have been around.

Back
12
we (L6)

• We in these lyrics represents all the people in
  Billy Joels generation. He is saying that his
  generation werent the ones who started all these
  conflicts but they did try to fight them and end
  them. They succeeded in a few but didnt solve
  everything.

Back
13
Eisenhower (H1)

• He was the 34th president of the United states.
  He served two, four year terms from 1953-1961. He
  was born in Texas in 1890. He was the Supreme
  Commander for the troops invading France
  including during D-Day. He suffered a heart
  attack in the September of 1955 but was fully
  recovered a few months later. He died on March 28
  in 1969 of a long term illness (The White House).

Back
14
Einstein (H2)

• Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879. His
  family were non-observant Jews. He went to a
  catholic elementary school however, from when he
  was age 5 to age 10. He received his doctorate
  from the University of Zurich. He has had three
  children in total from two marriages. However,
  his daughter, Lieserl, disappeared after 1903 and
  wasnt heard from after that (Wikipedia).

Back
15
Little Rock (H3)

• On September 10th, 1863, Major General Fred
  Steele order his army to attack the confederates.
  On their way they ran into confederate troops and
  with the aid of artillery fire, they pushed them
  back to Little Rock. Later that night they were
  defeated. This battle helped the Union to trap
  the Confederates in the Trans-Mississippi theater
  (asms).

Back
16
Bay of Pigs Invasion (H4)

• It was an unsuccessful US backed-Cuban Rebel
  attempted invasion of the Bay of Pigs. The US
  promised air support but they ended up backing
  out so the invasion was a complete failure. It
  was an attempt to overthrow the communist
  dictator Fidel Castro (Oracle ThinkQuest).

Back
17
JFK (H5)

• He was born on May 19th, 1917, in Brookline,
  Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard in 1940
  and then entered the Navy. After he came back he
  became a democratic congressman. He became
  president in 1961 but was assassinated two years
  later while his motorcade was driving in a parade
  (The White House).

Back
18
Watergate (H6)

• Watergate is a general term used to describe a
  number of political scandals from 1972 to 1974.
  It is used to represent the Watergate Hotel in
  Washington D.C. It occurred the presidency of
  Richard Nixon eventually resigned as President of
  the United States on August 8th, 1974
  (Watergate.info).

Back