“We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Fall Out Boy , released on June 28, 2023, serves as a whirlwind tour of events, people, and phenomena that have shaped the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The track is a captivating and thought-provoking one, confronting listeners with a barrage of names, events, and cultural references .

From “Captain Planet” to “Kim Jong Un” , from “Harry Potter” to “Michael Jackson” , from “Sandy Hook” to “climate change” , the song doesn’t flinch from any part of our cultural history. By mentioning these events, the band isn’t just weaving an auditory tapestry of our era, but also providing a commentary on the state of the world.

The chorus asserts that while the band (and by extension, their generation) didn’t start the metaphorical ‘fire’, they’re trying to fight it. This track acts as a mirror reflecting our society – our triumphs, tragedies, obsessions, and our fights .

We Didn’t Start The Fire Lyrics Fall Out Boy Meaning

Verse 1

The song kicks off with a heavy punch, spotlighting major events and cultural phenomena that shaped the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The lyrics mention everything from socio-political earthquakes like the “Arab Spring” and “L.A. riots” , to pop culture milestones like “Pokémon” , “Harry Potter” , and “Twilight” . Even nature’s fury is mentioned with “Iceland volcano” and the “Fukushima” nuclear accident . All these allude to a world in constant upheaval, a chaotic carousel spinning so fast it feels like we’re living amidst a raging fire.

Chorus

The chorus takes a reflective stance, conveying the message that their generation didn’t light the metaphorical ‘fire’ ; they didn’t create the problems and chaos that the world is currently grappling with. It has been a constant companion of human history. However, they also acknowledge their responsibility in attempting to combat these issues, fighting the flames, even if they weren’t the ones to spark them .

Verse 2

The second Verse serves another buffet of recent events and popular culture, creating a dizzying mosaic of our times. It talks about influential figures like “Obama” and “Spielberg” , haunting incidents like “the war in Afghanistan” , and political drama such as “Trump gets impeached twice” . From the addictive allure of “Stranger Things” to the wild spectacle of “Tiger King” , the verse doesn’t shy away from any part of our cultural fabric. It also spotlights the pressing issues of climate change – painting a sad picture of “Polar bears got no ice” . The verse serves as another confirmation of the chaotic and fast-paced world we live in .

We Didn’t Start The Fire Lyrics Fall Out Boy

[Verse 1]
Captain Planet, Arab Spring
L.A. riots, Rodney King
Deep fakes, earthquakes
Iceland volcano
Oklahoma City bomb
Kurt Cobain, Pokémon
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

[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’re trying to fight it

[Verse 2]
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

[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’re trying to fight it

[Verse 3]
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

[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’re trying to fight it

Verse 4]
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?

[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 go on, and on, and on
And on, and on, and on, and on, and on
We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning since the world’s been turning