Peak
94
Weeks
1
Score
39
Chart Year
2023
This song is an update to Billy Joel's 1989 hit, where in rapid-fire fashion, he listed various people, places, and events that were part of the culture during his life. Fall Out Boy picks up from 1989 with a new list that includes '90s icons like Kurt Cobain and Rodney King, up to more modern phenomena like deep fakes and Tiger King. Billy Joel's original version was a Fall Out Boy favorite. "I thought about this song a lot when I was younger. All these important people and events – some that disappeared into the sands of time – others that changed the world forever," FOB bassist Pete Wentz shared. "So much has happened in the span of the last 34 years – we felt like a little system update might be fun." We were kinda hoping for a Simpsons shout-out, considering Fall Out Boy is named after a comic book in the show's universe: Radioactive Man and Fallout Boy. Alas, The Simpsons went on the air in 1989, so it just missed the cutoff. Fallout Boy didn't appear until later though. This was released as a standalone single on June 28, 2023, along with a lyric video. Fall Out Boy had released their eighth album, So Much (For) Stardust, three months earlier. Because Fall Out Boy altered the lyrics, Billy Joel had to sign off on their cover. Over the years, he has often been asked to make a sequel to "We Didn't Start The Fire" with updated lyrics, but he never had any interest. He was probably happy to have another artist do it. Wentz told Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 there's no mention of COVID as they felt it was too "on the nose." Also, there were a couple of items, including Bush vs. Gore, they omitted as they couldn't come up with a good rhyme.
Captain Planet, Arab Spring L.A. riots, Rodney King Deepfakes, earthquakes Iceland volcano Oklahoma City bomb Kurt Cobain, Pokemon Tiger Woods, MySpace Monsanto, GMOs Harry Potter, Twilight Michael Jackson dies Nuclear accident Fukushima, Japan Crimean peninsula Cambridge Analytica Kim Jong Un Robert Downey Jr., Iron Man 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're tryin' to fight it More war in Afghanistan Cubs go all the way again Obama, Spielberg Explosion, Lebanon Unabomber, Bobbitt, John Bombing, Boston Marathon Balloon Boy, War On Terror QAnon Trump gets impeached twice Polar bears got no ice Fyre Fest, Black Parade Michael Phelps, Y2K Boris Johnson, Brexit Kanye West and Taylor Swift Stranger Things, Tiger King Ever Given, Suez 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're tryin' to fight it Sandy Hook, Columbine Sandra Bland and Tamir Rice ISIS, LeBron James Shinzo Abe blown away Meghan Markle, George Floyd Burj Khalifa, Metroid Fermi paradox Venus and Serena Michael Jordan, 23 YouTube killed MTV SpongeBob Golden State Killer got caught Michael Jordan, 45 Woodstock '99 Keaton Batman, Bush v. Gore I can't take it anymore 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're tryin' to fight it Elon Musk, Kaepernick Texas failed electric grid Jeff Bezos, climate change White rhino goes extinct Great Pacific garbage patch Tom DeLonge and aliens Mars rover, Avatar Self-driving electric cars SSRIs Prince and The Queen die World Trade, second plane What else do I have to say? We didn't start the fire (we didn't start it up) It was always burning since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire (we didn't start it up) But when we are gone, it will still go on and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on We didn't start the fire (fire) It was always burning since the world's been turning
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jul 15, 2023 | 94 | 32 |