[Intro]
G  D  Am  C  x4
[Verse]
G                        D 
Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China,
 Johnnie Ray 
Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray 
Am                              C 
South Pacific, Walter Winch ell, Joe
 DiMaggio 
South Pacific, Walter Winch ell, Joe DiMaggio 
G                           
Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon,
 D 
 Studebaker, television 
Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television 
Am                        C 
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn
 Monroe
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe
[Instrumental]
G  D  Am  C
[Verse]
G                   D 
Rosenberg s, H-bomb, Sugar Ray,
 Panmunjom 
Rosenberg s, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom 
Am                       C 
Brando, "The King and I" and "The
 Catcher in the Rye" 
Brando, "The King and I" and "The Catcher in the Rye" 
G                    D 
Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a
 new queen 
Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a new queen 
Am                  C 
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana
 goodbye
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye
[Chorus]
G                   D 
We didn't start the fire; 
       Am 
It was always burning, 
          C 
Since the world's been turning 
G                   D 
We didn't start the fire 
      Am 
No we didn't light it, 
       C 
But we tried to fight it
[Verse]
G                        D 
Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and
 Prokofiev 
Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev 
Am                       C 
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist
 Bloc 
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc 
G                     D 
Roy Kahn, Juan Peron, Toscanini,
 Dacron 
Roy Kahn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron 
Am                    C 
Dien Bien Phu falls, "Rock Around the
 Clock" 
Dien Bien Phu falls, "Rock Around the Clock" 
G                     D 
Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got
 a winning team 
Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team 
Am                        C 
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis
 Presley, Disneyland 
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland 
G                 D 
Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev
 
Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev 
Am                             
Princess Grace, "Peyton Place",
 C 
 trouble in the Suez
Princess Grace, "Peyton Place", trouble in the Suez
[Chorus]
G                   D 
We didn't start the fire; 
       Am 
It was always burning, 
          C 
Since the world's been turning 
G                   D 
We didn't start the fire 
      Am 
No we didn't light it, 
       C 
But we tried to fight it
[Bridge]
Am                      Em 
Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey
 Mantle, Kerouac 
Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac 
Am                     D 
Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, "Bridge on the
 River Kwai" 
Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, "Bridge on the River Kwai" 
Am                         
Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle,
 Em 
 California baseball 
Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California baseball 
Am                       D          
Stark weather, homicide, children of
            Dsus2 D 
 thalidomide 
Stark weather, homicide, children of thalidomide 
[Verse]
G                       D 
Buddy Holly, "Ben Hur", space monkey,
 Mafia 
Buddy Holly, "Ben Hur", space monkey, Mafia 
Am                  C 
Hula hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go
 
Hula hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go 
G                  D 
U-2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy
 
U-2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy 
Am                        C 
Chubby Checker, "Psycho", Belgians in
 the Congo
Chubby Checker, "Psycho", Belgians in the Congo
[Chorus]
G                   D 
We didn't start the fire 
       Am 
It was always burning, 
          C 
Since the world's been turning 
G                   D 
We didn't start the fire 
      Am 
No we didn't light it, 
       C 
But we tried to fight it
[Verse]
G                     D 
Hemingway, Eichmann, "Stranger in a
 Strange Land" 
Hemingway, Eichmann, "Stranger in a Strange Land" 
Am             C 
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion 
G                     D 
"Lawrence of Arabia", British Beatle
 mania 
"Lawrence of Arabia", British Beatle mania 
Am                    C 
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats
 Patterson 
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson 
G                     D 
Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British
 politician sex 
Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politician sex 
Am               C 
JFK, blown away, what else do I have
 to say
JFK, blown away, what else do I have to say
[Chorus]
G                   D 
We didn't start the fire 
       Am 
It was always burning, 
          C 
Since the world's been turning 
G                   D 
We didn't start the fire 
      Am 
No we didn't light it, 
       C 
But we tried to fight it
[Verse]
G                           D 
Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard
 Nixon back again 
Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again 
Am                    C 
Moon shot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk
 rock 
Moon shot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock 
G                         D 
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, terror on
 the airline 
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, terror on the airline 
Am                   C 
Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in
 Afghanistan 
Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan 
 G                              D 
"Wheel of Fortune", Sally Ride, heavy
 metal, suicide 
"Wheel of Fortune", Sally Ride, heavy metal, suicide 
Am                            C 
Foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS,
 crack, Bernie Goetz 
Foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz 
G                          D 
Hypodermics on the shores, China's
 under martial law 
Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law 
Am                         C 
Rock and roller cola wars, I can't
 take it anymore
Rock and roller cola wars, I can't take it anymore
[Outro]
G                   D 
We didn't start the fire 
       Am 
It was always burning, 
          C 
Since the world's been turning 
G                   D 
We didn't start the fire 
         Am 
But when we are gone 
        C                  G      
Will it still burn on, and on, and
 D       Am     C 
 on, and on 
Will it still burn on, and on, and on, and on 
G                   D 
We didn't start the fire 
       Am 
It was always burning, 
          C 
Since the world's been turning 
G                   D 
We didn't start the fire 
       Am 
It was always burning, 
          C 
Since the world's been turning