Music

This updated version of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" covers CDs, Tupac, and tons more

by Mark Teo

When Billy Joel wrote “We Didn’t Start the Fire” back in 1989, it was received as a mini history lesson: Joel, who’d then just turned 40, used the song to reflect on four decades of world history, dating back to 1949. Accordingly, the song’s signature was the rapid-fire namedrop of 119 historical references in its verses, ranging from Doris Day, to the separation of the two Koreas, to homeless Vietnam vets, to the rise of AIDS. It was a staggering amount of history in a single song—and it’s a feat that’s since been unrivalled in pop music.

Of course, a lot—a heckuva lot—has happened since 1989. (The Soviet Union collapsed, for one.) But it’s unlikely that Joel, despite being a self-described history nerd, would update the song; in fact, he says he kind of hates the song. Still, that hasn’t stopped his fans from updating the song—and there have been several renditions of the track, from CollegeHumor’s ROFLcopter-referencing “We Didn’t Start the Flame War” to an all-’90s edition of the song.

Our favourite, though, belongs to YouTube user Jaethemusicman, who updated the song to reflect 1989-2012. In a mean 4:30, the song drops everything from CDs, the fall of the Berlin Wall, civil unions, Tupac, cloned sheep, Y2K, Trayvon Martin, and…. so, so much more. Like the original, it’s pretty staggering. Check the full song below.

[h/t: Matthew Perpetua]