Song
Another song. Another earworm. This one was written by Billy Joel in 1989 when he was forty. He had had a contretemps with a much younger man who imagined that only his generation had it tough and people of Joel's age had had it easy. Joel bristled at this and the seeds of "We Didn't Start The Fire" were sown. I suppose he was attempting to say that in his life there had been many crises, many issues, famous people coming and going. The young man had been badly mistaken. It is a fast-paced list song with references to 120 figures and events and places from post-war history. Not long after releasing the song, Billy Joel indicated some private irritation about it. He grew to dislike it but personally, I think that it is both clever and evocative as it quickly rolls out dozens of references to historical times and famous figures that are all familiar to me - and probably to you too. Here are the lyrics so that you can sing along to the video that follows:- Harry Tru...