Billy Joel's Poem

Every second. Every minute. Every hour. Every day. History is creating, sometimes recreating, itself. In today’s world it is common for most people to learn about history in a classroom, through a textbook and teacher. It seems silly or irrelevant to learn of the past in any other way than what we were prior taught in grade school and high school; However, there are other available sources to learn about history. One way that may not seem very familiar is through songs. Over the years many artists have produced songs referencing and telling the story of many historical events. From natural disasters to school shootings, there is probably a song that covers it. These songs may not fulfill your hunger for knowledge by solely listening to them …show more content…
The lyric in this song relates to many celebrities and also to multiple affairs that happened in specific years. For example, the first verse involves topics related to the year 1949, or very close to 1949. Billy Joel mentions Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, johnnie Ray, South Pacific, Walter Winchell, and Joe DiMaggio in the first two lines of “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”
First, Harry Truman became the U.S President in 1945 after President Roosevelt died that year. Truman was responsible for dropping the atomic bombs on Japan and ending World War 2; he also initiated the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after the war. Truman began his second term in 1949. During his second term he brought the United States into the Korean War. Next, Doris Day was born in 1924, at the age of 16 she started singing and touring with the Les Brown Band. She made her first movie in 1948 and soon became a popular movie star and …show more content…
First, this song is particularly important because it sheds light to many historical topics and figures in America. Billy Joel sings about presidents, movie stars, wars, and much more in his song. Simply knowing a song that mentions all of these topics is one way of making connections. Bringing history into lyrical music is much more than it seems; learning is expanding. Someone who may have a difficult time understanding major historical events may be able to hurt to a song that can help explain the situation. “We Didn’t Start the fire” does not focus on explaining and historical events, but it does allow a student expand their knowledge by merely learning a song. A student, after hearing this song, may become interested and research the topics listed within the lyrics. This is what makes the lyrics important in a song that references historical events; this peaks a student imagination to learn