Final Project: Analyzing Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire"
Throughout the course of modern history, music has been used to act as a mirror of sorts, reflecting the current times; how people live, what the celebrate and what they struggle with. Through themes and lyrics, musical artists are able to address many issues, including inequality and injustice, love, loss and personal struggles, creating a timely commentary on the human condition. Music also serves as a time capsule, capturing the trends, ideals and values of a given period. A song I loved as a kid and that my 12-year-old son has recently discovered is Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire” (Joel, American, 1989). Released when I was 8 years old, I remember being primarily captivated by the style of the song, which is a rapid-fire listing of pivotal moments in then-recent world history, spliced with references to celebrities set to Joel’s band. "We Didn't Start the Fire" serves as both a loose record of the period of 1949 to 1989 and would serve as a great jumping off