Fall Out Boy’s updated “We Didn’t Start The Fire” is for the emo fan that loves a 9/11 reference
The band’s take on the Billy Joel classic incorporates news items from 1989-2023.
Fall Out Boy have released a 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, Pokemon, 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."
Fall Out Boy are currently ontour in support of their eighth studio album So Much (For) Stardust, which was released in March.