Songs to Dance To: We Didn’t Start the Fire

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Yeah, that’s a Monday for you. MyLot was down, and my glasses broke. Oh, and the Mariners lost. After lunch I’ll go up to the VA and get the glasses fixed (I have a spare pair, given that my eyesight hasn’t changed in five years or longer). Meanwhile, here’s a song to dance to. We Didn’t Start the Fire - Billy Joel I wondered if Billy Joel heard R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” and thought, “Hmm, I can do that.” In actuality, the song began when a “kid” complained how bad life was (in 1988) for a 21-year-old. Joel replied that it was rough when he was 21, and the kid replied, “Yeah, but nothing happened in the 50s.” Joel asked him if he’d ever heard about the Suez Canal and Korean War issues (not to mention the Puerto Rican nationalists trying to assassinate President Truman…which didn’t make the song). The song is very historically accurate, and a vital lesson: if you think it’s “worse than it’s ever been” you haven’t studied history. Notice how this song references Russians invading another country (Afghanistan in the 80s as opposed to Ukraine now), diseases (AIDS vs. covid), drugs (crack vs. fentanyl)…and “foreign debts, homeless vets,” which we’ll always have. Joel is absolutely correct. This “fire” has been “burning since the world’s been turning.” So let that cheer you up…or depress the hell out of you. We Didn’t Start the Fire Written by Billy Joel Recorded by Billy Joel From Storm Front, 1989 Song used last month: “Don’t Ask Me Why” Hemingway, Eichmann: