Love it, Billy

[Shawnee_b]

Think on it people, "we didn't start the fire"

Kinda appropriate right now.

 

[JOSweetHeart]

To me, the question is who has it in them to put out the fires that shouldn't even exist in the first place?

God bless you always!!!

Holly

 

[Hellbilly]

Think on it people, "we didn't start the fire"

Kinda appropriate right now.

Exactly right. The song is about things that happened In previous generations. In this case decades of abuse by police against black people.

What Joel is basically saying is that the pressing problems that those now coming up are faced with did not begin in their generation or even in his, the one prior. Rather it had already been like that even before he was born, and when he and the current youngsters themselves “are gone” it will remain so.

Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire” Lyrics Meaning - Song Meanings and Facts

"We Didn't Start the Fire" is an exercise in nostalgia and storytelling for Billy Joel. He wrote it upon reaching the milestone age of 40, when he also happened to be at a crossroad in his career. And its penning was initially inspired by a conversation he had with someone a generation younger...

www.songmeaningsandfacts.com