Lesson Plan - Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire"

Objectives: 

The students will… 

Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t 

Start the Fire” 

• Be able to identify the major historical and cultural figures in Billy Joel’s song “We 

Didn’t Start the Fire” 

• Understand the major events of the Cold War 

• Be able to place the Cold War chronologically in American history 

• Be able to conduct further research on issues and topics from the era 1949-1989 

Materials: 

• Lyrics from “We Didn’t Start the Fire” 

• Student Handout on major figures, events, places 

• Audio or video of the song 

Optional: 

Billy Joel Songs: “Leningrad” 

“Allentown” 

“Goodnight Saigon” 

Billy Joel’s website 

Additional Resources: 

• YouTube version of the Song 

• DVD: Billy Joel’s Greatest Hits Vol. 3 (contains “We Didn’t Start the Fire” and 

“Leningrad” 

• DVD: Billy Joel—the Essential Video Collection (contains “Allentown” and “Goodnight 

Saigon” 

Teacher Guide Page 1

Background: 

Song writer Billy Joel is a talent musician and lyricist. Many of his songs have outstanding 

historical themes that can be used in the classroom. Music helps students retain information and 

can increase their understanding of events. In 1989, Joel wrote a popular song called “We Didn’t 

Start the Fire” in conjunction with his 40 th birthday. He recalled all of the people and events that 

impacted his life as a “baby-boomer” growing up during the Cold War era. The song is now 

readily available on CD, Itunes, and DVD and has the added advantage of the fact that most 

students have never heard it. 

1. Introduce the song and activity to the classroom. 

a. Provide the students some context to the Cold War. 

b. Why is 1989 considered to be the unofficial end of the Cold War? 

i. Explain the events surrounding the tearing down of the Berlin Wall and 

the subsequent collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union. 

2. Pass out the handout with the listing of the major figures in the song. 

3. Play the song for the class. 

a. The DVD version is excellent but there is a very brief scene of drug use but this is 

not gratuitous but in context of the period. 

4. Assign each student two names from the list randomly. 

a. Have the students research the individual and his/her significance. 

b. Why was that person included in the song? 

c. What was the timeframe of that individual’s fame? 

i. Note that some of the people have long careers. The song is roughly 

chronological from 1949 “Harry Truman” to 1987 “Bernie Geotz.” 

d. You may want to have the students prepare posters or other materials to hang 

around the classroom to illustrate the song. 

5. You may also want to then have the students research some of the events portrayed in the 

song as well. 

6. There are several websites available for the song. YouTube has some excellent videos 

illustrating it as well. 

7. If time permits, you may want to play/show the Billy Joel songs “Leningrad” and 

“Allentown.” 

a. “Leningrad” shows the hostility between the United States and the Cold War. 

b. “Allentown” portrays the growth of the suburbs and its homogenized culture. 

c. “Goodnight Saigon” is Joel’s portrayal of the Vietnam War. 

Teacher Guide Page 2

Lesson Plan - Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire"

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