It's actually chronological; historical people and events and so on, from the year Billy Joel was born until the year he wrote the song. I've never seen the live version before. You might get a better sense of the flow of it if you watch the original official video. This is cool, though. And your analysis is basically correct. Billy Joel was born right after WWII (beginning of the baby boom) and this song was written, I think, in the late 1980s. A lot of history teachers and professors have structured semesters around this, introducing the song to outline it.

This song came about from Billy meeting Sean Lennon and a friend at a recording studio. Sean and his friend had turned 21 and Billy commiserated how hard life was at that stage in life. Sean’s friend said you grew up in the 50s and nothing happened then. Billy being a history buff set out to educate on what happened from 1949, when Billy was born, to 1989. This is the only song he ever wrote the lyrics first to and he says the melody is not his best because of it. Try Scenes from an Italian Restaurant, River of Dreams, The Longest Time or New York State of Mind for a completely different Billy Joel sound

He wrote this song as an exercise on his bday. He wanted to see the major events of every year of his life. And then rhymed it lol. Classic. I remember bringing this song to history class in 8th grade

This song was released in 1989. My senior year of high school was ‘91-‘92 and our senior level social studies class was 20th Century US History. Our teacher printed out the lyrics to this song and made a week long lesson out of explaining the history and significance of every item mentioned. It was the best history lesson I ever had and I still remember 90% of these from that lesson. I highly recommend that you do that deep dive into this like you mentioned. It’s absolutely brilliant and will greatly increase your appreciation of this song.

My favorite Billy Joel song. It's a history lesson in lyrics.

This is a genius history lesson listing influential major events and people from the year he was born until he turned forty. I home schooled my son through junior high and high school and one of his favorite assignments was to pick a person or event from each year and research it, write his take on it etc. Love it!

Another great thing about him is he doesn’t sell front row tickets but gives them to fans in the back to watch the show front row.

If I remember correctly, this is Billy Joel basically 'shorthand' listing/referencing the major (and often tragic) events that have happened since he was born. The chorus is making the connection - history is an ongoing narrative that we all play a part in. I I think in a way this song is making "stars" out of these references, in such that the sheer amount of them diminishes the overwhelming concerns of today. Essentially meaning that the big issues of today, often do not seem as huge in context of the world itself.

The events listed in this song are in chronological order. It covers the time of the Cold War from beginning to "end"

His team put out an entire history curiculum free to classrooms. In the lyric sheet in the cassette, each group of items is labeled by year.

Joel is a genius, one of many, but still a genius.

Thanks for reacting to my favorite song. I find it to be the MOST unique ever, just for all those names, places & events being rattled off.

The song made me look back at history.

We were required to dissect this song and speak on every aspect of it as a condition of graduation from my Alternative High School. My history teacher used the parallel of pop music and popular culture to teach the evolution of our current history. (Class of '91)

i’ve always wished he’d done another version with more current events, it’s a song full of history lessons which i thought was very cool as a kid.

Its a list of highly publicized headlines during Billy Joel's lifetime, 1949 until the song was released in 1989. As you said, there has always been issues but no one generation is to blame.

I love that they show the visual references during the concert, but the official video/studio version still blows this away. Basically reminding everyone that shit happens, but it's always been happening. Every generation tries to make things better, but nothing ever really changes.

Each section is going decade by decade. Honestly, should have reacted to the video for this song.

When I was in high school, I was (and still am) a metalhead. My parents always said the typical "they're just screaming" until one day in the car Revolution by the Beatles came on the radio where they start the song by screaming, and I got to use their line against them! Hilarious! To me anyway. Thanks for another amazing video!

I was waiting for this. I honestly thought you would be the perfect reactor. I learned a few things from this song and would like to learn some more without having to read.

I yelled "Exactly!!!" When he compared songs from the 20s to WAP. It goes back farther than that. People have always been this weird, we just know more now because of the internet.

The fire has always been there, and will always be there. No generation is to blame, nor is any generation fully blameless.

He's right, his generation didn't start it...but they didn't try and fight it, they fanned the flames

The original video of this well worth checking out.

It's a history lesson 😉 As always you rock Brother 🐶😎🇺🇸

brilliant song

I've always liked this song, and I agree with your analysis - it's some significant social commentary hiding in a catchy pop beat.

Do more Billy Joel reacts please!

Video is cool.

It's the 50s then the 60s then the 70s He is going through the decades

In 8th grade History class (90?) we had to take one of the events in the song and write a paper about it.

So since we did start the fire that means we don't have to keep it lit 🔥👌

My grandmother once complained about music I listened to. I had to inform her that her favorite song growing up, “My Ding-a-ling” is about a penis, not a bell….

His song- It's Still Rock n' Roll

If you grew up in the fifties, sixties and seventies as I did you would be familiar with everything he names.

Its a history tour just letting you know we didn't start the fire it was started ling ago unfortunately the US wants to keep it going. Peace out.

I had a university class that was studying McCarthyism at one point. I brought the video in for this song and the teacher let me play it. And everyone listening suddenly, at different times, said "oh! I get it!" It was neat to see which part of history they saw that made the rest of the lesson sink in.

Part 2 must be due in 6 years blimey

I always saw or heard it as a time capsule type of song. Not suggesting anything or having opinions on the past events, people and situations. Just pointing out some key moments in our history. From his point of view that I suppose stand out to him and many others.

This song spans from 1949 when Billy Joel was born to 1989 when he wrote the song.

Another song of his you should listen to is Leningrad also very history related

My bro is like a real life uncle Phil

Saw him in the 90's. He said he had a bet with another artist that he wouldn't get through it. At that point he had not lost!!

What was done wrong back then doesn't justify what is done wrong today.

This song is deep

Thank you, nice reaction ! This song he wrote turning 40 and is definitely a conversation starter. There are so many historical references in there starting 1948. Every subsequent generation thinks it is getting worse and worse ignoring the troubles from the past. The next song to react to imo would naturally be "Piano Man" (original video).

8th grade history we had to copy the lyric sheet to this and find explanations for all of the references. This was in 1997 so the internet hadn't done it for us yet... At least not where we could find it.

Fall out boy made a new version from 89 to today

The piano man. He had some great hits.

Billy Joel is a musical genius

If you watch the original video, it will make more sense to you. It’s written about events that happened from his birth until current (at the time of writing it). In the video it follows a family through those decades.

This song is actually used in slot of high school history class.

youre the goat

Fall Out Boy just released a version of this song, but with more current events.

Love that you picked up that it is in chronological order

Its completely chronological.

Check out the part 2 version from fall out boys that covers 1989 to 2023

there's a bookmarked page i have, xkcd "the pace of modern life". it's a series of opinion pieces submitted to newspapers between the years 1871 and 1915, all of them complaining about how "nobody does things like they did in the good ol' days". we didn't start the fire, humans have always been this way.

You have to react to Fall Out Boy. They remade this song but covering events that happened since Billy Joel's song.

1989=Berlin Wall fell=End of Russian Communism=End of Cold War=My Senior year in High School. It was our anthem song. We ruled the World.

BTW 119 points or history gives we all pay 4 our 4 fathers no matter how far u go back😊

Writing this on the 4th so Happy Independence Day everyone! However 6 days Fall Out Boy essentially released pt 2 to this song. Goes by the same by the same name and just as good in my opinion

Shave Em Dry is fire :D Learned about that from another channel and then watched you react to it. GREAT material! :D

Play the song is in chronological order, it went up to the year 198941990 cuz that's the year to come out, so that's as far as it gets because everything else would have been stuff in the future so this song is old but it was ccurrent.

You'd have to know very little world history to miss the intentional ordering (and impact) of the events in this song.

this is actually a case where you'll get more out of watching the video. it's a videographic story of a young couple getting married and moving into their new house, and as the verses progress the family changes . Also, as to your point about Whap. Consider the 1950s song 60 minute man.

I you ask me Humanity has now days more to Damage to fix then ever and it seams to me, its gething wors.

I'm a bit late to finding this reaction. At the beginning, you seemed a bit "confused?" for a better word on the lyrics, but as it went on, started to catch on to BJ's trip through time. His lyrics were almost always deeper than the literal meaning. In today's music, they'd just come out and say the shortest sentence you can get to have a meaning. His music was written more poetically, requiring you to really listen and piece it together. One of the best songwriters of our times.

Check out Dylan's Murder Most Foul.

6:34 - He said "JFK, blown away... What else do I have to say?" In other words, if that isn't trouble before this generation's time, there's nothing he could say to convince them.

10:03 - It's not selective memory. Some people like to ban what they don't like and pretend it never existed. :(

He should've reacted to the music video itself, that has a lot of clue.

"Fire storms" was a phrase they used years ago to refer to incidents like these. Something like "a flash in the pan". (Sorry to use one cliche to describe another, I can't think of the right word.)

still try an still fail at nailing this in one take laying down blitzed... I'll get it😅 wait I'm back! I'd love to see you do a full breakdown of this checking of not just acknowledging each incident... please don't tell me I'm the only one who'd like to see this?

1949-1989

You need to listen to the updated version by Fallout Boy

The music video is better it shows someone growing up

BTW 1949-1989

List of Tragedies & or Evil People - We Didn't Start the Fire the world's always been messed up 😅

THE OFFICIAL VIDEO showed it all. Einstein died in 1955 hence the mention.

Joe McCarthy Richard Nixon Studebaker Television North Korea South Korea Marilyn Monroe, RYAN STARTED THE FIRE!

each verse is a decade iirc

Excellent reaction. There are plenty of newer type versions of this song on KZfaq with artists doing their own timeline interpretations. This is probably my favorite Billy Joel song but he's got so many others. Apparently this is his least favorite for some reason.

Back in the day the smut was kept under wraps or euphemisms were used. Like in Whole lotta love when Robert Plant said "I wanna be your Backdoor Man" means that he wanted to have Anal sex with the woman. If he was more crude and explicit the song might have been banned. Not so Cardi B plus I think Cardi B lacks some talent in writing lyrics and may have a more limited vocabulary than Led Zeppelin, and I suspect that they may have been high most of the time. I am biased I like Led Zeppelin, not so much Cardi B. I think I may research the Formal educational background of Robert Plant and Cardi B. That would be interesting.

Or the sixties, or the seventies, or the eighties! Piss poor evaluation.

The baby boomers get blamed for a lot.

Stop interrupting!

Are you incapable of listening?

Lame

Good reaction, but I'm sorry, WAP is a dirty disgusting song, no matter what era you compare it to!