“We Didn’t Start the Fire” Project
You are going to create a presentation based on the song “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel. You
will create a PowerPoint that both illustrates and explains each of your historical topics. You will also
write a short essay about one historical figure from the song, and create a timeline that shows each
topic you selected for your PowerPoint.
You will need to conduct research on the topics you select from the song. You will be able to conduct
most of this research during class time. Some work may need to be done at home. The various parts
of this project will count as the majority of your grades for the rest of the semester, so do your best
work!
The website http://www.teacheroz.com/fire.htm has links to every topic, it is a very good place to
start. Your book and other internet resources can be used as well.
Project Final Due Date: Tuesday, May 20th
Presentation Dates: Wednesday – Friday, May 21-23
Requirements:
1. Webquest: Research the people, places and things mentioned in the song,
2. Visual presentation (PowerPoint): Fifteen (15) historical topics from song.
You will choose fifteen (15) topics to cover based on the song and the provided lyrics. The PowerPoint
should have a minimum of ten (10) slides. This means you may combine topics on one slide.
3. Timeline Requirement (drawing – computer or by hand): Fifteen (15) historical topics from song
(the same ones picked for your PowerPoint). You will create a timeline that shows the fifteen events
you selected for your PowerPoint.
4. Writing Requirement (Word Document – Essay): One (1) historical figure (person) from song.
This essay needs to be written in your own words! It does not need to have citations, but it does
need to be persuasive. Your essay should be at least two (2) pages, double-spaced, in length.
You should write the essay with the following writing prompt in mind:
“____________ [your historical figure] is one of the most important figures in US History
because….” Please include the “who,” “what,” “when,” “where,” and “why” related to your
choice.
5. Presentation Requirement: BRIEF (3-4 mins.) in-class presentation. After creating your project,
you will present it to the class, briefly explaining each of the topics in your PowerPoint.
We Didn’t Start the Fire Lyrics
Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray,
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio
Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker,
television, North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn
Monroe
U2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the Congo
Rosenbergs, H-Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom,
Brando, "The King and I", and "The Catcher in the
Rye"
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 tried to fight it
Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a new queen,
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye
Hemingway, Eichmann, Stranger in a Strange Land,
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion
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 tried to fight it
Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatlemania,
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson
Josef Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc
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 tried to fight it
Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron,
Dien Bien Phu Falls, Rock Around the Clock
Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning
team, Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley,
Disneyland
Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev
Princess Grace, Peyton Place, Trouble in the 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 tried to fight it
Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac,
Sputnik, Zhou Enlai, Bridge On The River Kwai
Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California Baseball,
Starkweather homicide, Children of Thalidomide
Buddy Holly, Ben Hur, Space Monkey, Mafia
Hula Hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go
Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British Politician sex,
J.F.K. blown away,
what else do I have to say
Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back
again, Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk
rock
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, Terror on the airline,
Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan
Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, heavy metal suicide,
Foreign debts, homeless Vets, AIDS, Crack, Bernie
Goetz
Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial
law, Rock and Roller cola wars,
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
But when we are gone
It will still burn on, and on, and on, and on...
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 tried to fight it
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 tried to fight it
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire...
We Didn’t Start the Fire Lyrics (Annotated)
Harry Truman (45-53), Doris Day (actress), Red China (1949), Johnnie Ray (singer), South Pacific (movie),
Walter Winchell (actor), Joe DiMaggio (baseball player)
Joe McCarthy (red scare), Richard Nixon (VP), Studebaker (car), television (pop culture), North Korea
(War), South Korea (War), Marilyn Monroe (actress)
Rosenbergs (spies, executed), H-Bomb (arms race), Sugar Ray (boxer), Panmunjom (armistice for Korean
War), (Marlon) Brando (actor), "The King and I" (musical), and "The Catcher in the Rye" (book)
Eisenhower (53-62), (polio) vaccine (1952), England's got a new queen (Elizabeth II), (Rocky) Marciano
(boxer), Liberace (entertainer), (George) Santayana (Spanish Philosopher)
Joseph Stalin (USSR leader), (Georgy) Malenkov (USSR Leader), (Gamal) Nasser (Egyptian leader) and
(Sergei) Prokofiev (Russian Composer), (Winthrop) Rockefeller (bad divorce), Campanella (baseball),
Communist Bloc (countries)
Roy Cohn (red scare), Juan Peron (Argentina president), (Arturo) Toscanini (orchestra leader), Dacron
(plastic),
Dien Bien Phu Falls (Vietnam), Rock Around the Clock (rock music)
(Albert) Einstein (dies 1955), James Dean (movie star), Brooklyn's got a winning team (baseball), Davy
Crockett (real person/television show), Peter Pan (movie), Elvis Presley (rock music), Disneyland (popular
culture)
(Brigitte) Bardot (actress), Budapest (1956 revolution), Alabama (Montgomery Bus Boycott), (Nikita)
Khrushchev (USSR), Princess Grace (actress), Peyton Place (book), Trouble in the Suez (Suez crisis 1956)
Little Rock (Nine) (civil rights 1957) , (Boris) Pasternak (Russian poet), Mickey Mantle (baseball), (Jack)
Kerouac (novel “On the road”), Sputnik (USSR space race), Zhou Enlai (Chinese leader), Bridge On The
River Kwai (movie)
Lebanon (1958 US intervenes), Charles de Gaulle (French President), California Baseball (Dodgers),
(Charles) Starkweather homicides (serial killer), Children of Thalidomide (birth defects from drug)
Buddy Holly (pop culture, 1959 death), Ben Hur (movie), Space Monkey (space race), Mafia (1959), Hula
Hoops (pop culture 1959), (Fidel) Castro (Cuban leader), Edsel is a no-go (terrible car)
U2 (US spy plane), Syngman Rhee (South Korean leader), payola (pop culture) and Kennedy (US
President), Chubby Checker
(pop culture “the twist”), Psycho (movie), Belgians in the Congo (1960 Congo Crisis)
(Ernest) Hemingway (author), Eichmann, Stranger in a Strange Land, (Bob) Dylan (musician), Berlin, Bay
of Pigs invasion (Cuba)
Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatlemania (music),Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson (Boxing)
Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British Politician sex, J.F.K. blown away,
Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again, Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, Terror on the airline, Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan
Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, heavy metal suicide, Foreign debts, homeless Vets, AIDS, Crack, Bernie
Goetz
Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law, Rock and Roller cola wars,