Fall Out Boy have released cover of the Billy Joel song “We Didn’t Start the Fire” – updated to namecheck newsworthy items from 1989-2023. In the original, Joel lists significant events and figures from 1949 (his year of birth) to 1989. In the updated version, Fall Out Boy cherry pick from the past 34 years of history, landing on names such as Elon Musk and Michael Jordan as well as September 11 and the Columbine mass shooting. There’s a lot going on for what is supposedly a little ironic karaoke. Check it out below.
Other events referenced by Fall Out Boy in their refreshed lyrics are the Arab Spring, the rise of deep fake technology, The Oklahoma City bombing, and the war in Afghanistan. Myspace, Pokémon, Balloon Boy, and Robert Downey Jr’s role in Iron Man are thrown in for a lighter touch.
“All these important people and events, some that disappeared into the sands of time, others that changed the world forever,” the band said in a statement. “So much has happened in the span of the last 34 years, we felt like a little system update might be fun.”
The song starts out with instrumental guitar accompanied with visuals of Donald Trump, New York city and more. They list all kinds of historical icons from Harry Potter to Kim Jong Un. They sing “We didn’t starts the fire it was always burning since the worlds been turning” much like the original song. They list more significant staples such as Stranger Things and Brexit. More visuals such as internet screenshots and historical icons appear as the song closes out.
Fall Out Boy are currently on tour in support of their eighth studio album So Much (For) Stardust, which was released in March.
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