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Credits

PERFORMING ARTISTS
Billy Joel
Billy Joel
Lead Vocals
Liberty De Vitto
Liberty De Vitto
Drums
David Brown
David Brown
Electric Guitar
Joey Hunting
Joey Hunting
Electric Guitar
Schuyler Deale
Schuyler Deale
Bass Guitar
Jeff Jacobs
Jeff Jacobs
Synthesizer
John Mahoney
John Mahoney
Keyboards
Crystal Taliefero
Crystal Taliefero
Percussion
Sammy Merendino
Sammy Merendino
Electronic Instrument
Kevin Jones
Kevin Jones
Programming
Doug Kleeger
Doug Kleeger
Sound Effects
COMPOSITION & LYRICS
Billy Joel
Billy Joel
Songwriter
PRODUCTION & ENGINEERING
Billy Joel
Billy Joel
Producer
Mick Jones
Mick Jones
Producer
Jay Healy
Jay Healy
Recording Engineer
Gary Solomon
Gary Solomon
Assistant Engineer
David Dorn
David Dorn
Assistant Engineer
Tim Crich
Tim Crich
Assistant Engineer
Joe Pirerra
Joe Pirerra
Assistant Engineer
Dana Becker
Dana Becker
Assistant Engineer
Suzanne Hollander
Suzanne Hollander
Assistant Engineer
Tom Lord-Alge
Tom Lord-Alge
Mixing Engineer
Gary Soloman
Gary Soloman
Assistant Engineer

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
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
[Verse 2]
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
[Chorus]
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it
[Verse 3]
Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc
Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron
Dien Bien Phu Falls, rock around the clock
[Verse 4]
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
[Chorus]
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it
[Verse 5]
Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Zhou Enlai, bridge on the river Kwai
Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California baseball
Stark weather homicide, children of Thalidomide
[Verse 6]
Buddy Holly, Ben-Hur, space monkey, Mafia
Hula-hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no go
U-2, Syngman Rhee, Payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the Congo
[Chorus]
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it
[Verse 7]
Hemingway, Eichmann, Stranger in a Strange Land
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion
Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson
Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politician sex
J.F.K. blown away, what else do I have to say?
[Chorus]
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it
[Verse 8]
Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, terror on the airline
Aytollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan
[Verse 9]
Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, heavy metal suicide
Foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz
Hypodermics on the shore, China's under martial law
Rock and roller cola wars, I can't take it anymore
[Chorus]
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
But when we are gone, it will still burn on
And on and on and on and on and on and on and on
[Chorus]
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it
[Chorus]
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it
[Chorus]
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it
Written by: William Martin Joel

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