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We Didn't Start The Fire chords by
Billy Joel
Billy Joel
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1989•Rock•5.5K views•
4.9 (30)
Key: G major•
Intro 1
G
G

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D
D

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Em
Em

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C
C

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G
G

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D
D

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Em
Em

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C
C

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G
G

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D
D

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Em
Em

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C
C

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G
G

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D
D

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G
G

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C
C

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Verse 1
G
G

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Harry Truman, Doris Day,
D
D

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Red China, Johnnie Ray
Em
Em

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C
C

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South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio
G
G

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Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon,
D
D

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Studebaker, television
Em
Em

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C
C

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North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe
Interlude 1
G
G

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D
D

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Em
Em

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C
C

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Verse 2
G
G

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Rosenbergs, H-bomb,
D
D

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Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Em
Em

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Brando, "The King and I"
C
C

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and "The Catcher in the Rye"
G
G

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Eisenhower, vaccine,
D
D

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England's got a new queen
Em
Em

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C
C

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Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye
Chorus 1
G
G

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D
D

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We didn't start the fire
Em
Em

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It was always burning
C
C

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Since the world's been turning
G
G

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D
D

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We didn't start the fire
G
G

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No we didn't light it
C
C

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But we tried to fight it
Verse 3
G
G

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Joseph Stalin, Malenkov,
D
D

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Nasser and Prokofiev
Em
Em

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C
C

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Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc
G
G

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D
D

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Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron
Em
Em

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Dien Bien Phu falls,
C
C

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"Rock Around the Clock"
G
G

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Einstein, James Dean,
D
D

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Brooklyn's got a winning team
Em
Em

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Davy Crockett, Peter Pan,
C
C

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Elvis Presley, Disneyland
G
G

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D
D

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Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Krushchev
Em
Em

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Princess Grace, "Peyton Place",
C
C

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trouble in the Suez
Chorus 2
G
G

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D
D

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We didn't start the fire
Em
Em

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It was always burning
C
C

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Since the world's been turning
G
G

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D
D

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We didn't start the fire
G
G

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No we didn't light it
Am
Am

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But we tried to fight it
Bridge 1
C
C

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Little Rock, Pasternak,
Am
Am

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Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Em
Em

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Sputnik, Zhou En-Lai,
D
D

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"Bridge on the River Kwai"
C
C

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Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle,
Am
Am

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Em
Em

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California baseball, Starkweather homicide,
D
D

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children of Thalidomide
Verse 4

Oh, huh, ho
G
G

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D
D

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Buddy Holly, "Ben-Hur", Space Monkey, Mafia
Em
Em

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C
C

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Hula hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go
G
G

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D
D

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U2, Syngman Rhee, Payola and Kennedy
Em
Em

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Chubby Checker, "Psycho",
C
C

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Belgians in the Congo
Chorus 3
G
G

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D
D

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We didn't start the fire
Em
Em

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It was always burning
C
C

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Since the world's been turning
G
G

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D
D

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We didn't start the fire
G
G

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No we didn't light it
C
C

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But we tried to fight it
Verse 5
G
G

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Hemingway, Eichmann,
D
D

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"Stranger in a Strange Land"
Em
Em

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C
C

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Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion
G
G

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"Lawrence of Arabia",
D
D

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British Beatlemania
Em
Em

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Ole Miss, John Glenn,
C
C

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Liston beats Patterson
G
G

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Pope Paul, Malcolm X,
D
D

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British politician sex
Em
Em

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JFK, blown away,
C
C

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what else do I have to say?
Chorus 4
G
G

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D
D

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We didn't start the fire
Em
Em

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It was always burning
C
C

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Since the world's been turning
G
G

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D
D

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We didn't start the fire
G
G

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No we didn't light it
C
C

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But we tried to fight it
Verse 6
G
G

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Birth control, Ho Chi Minh,
D
D

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Richard Nixon back again
Em
Em

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C
C

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Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock
G
G

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Begin, Reagan, Palestine,
D
D

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terror on the airline
Em
Em

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C
C

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Ayatollahs in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan
G
G

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"Wheel of Fortune", Sally Ride,
D
D

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heavy metal, suicide
Em
Em

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Foreign debts, homeless vets,
C
C

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AIDS, Crack, Bernie Goetz
G
G

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Hypodermics on the shores,
D
D

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China's under martial law
Em
Em

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Rock and roller Cola wars,
Chorus 5

I can't take it anymore
G
G

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D
D

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We didn't start the fire
Em
Em

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It was always burning
C
C

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Since the world's been turning
G
G

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D
D

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We didn't start the fire
G
G

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But when we are gone
C
C

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G
G

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It will still burn on, and on, and on
D
D

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Em
Em

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C
C

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and on and on and on and on and on
G
G

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D
D

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We didn't start the fire
G
G

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It was always burning
C
C

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Since the world's been turning
Outro 1
G
G

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D
D

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We didn't start the fire
Em
Em

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No we didn't light it
C
C

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But we tried to fight it
G
G

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D
D

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We didn't start the fire
G
G

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It was always burning
C
C

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Since the world's been turning
[Repeat and fade]

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An acoustic guitar head with tuning pegs

Tuning:Standard Open Tuner
Chords

  • G

  • D

  • Em

  • C

  • Am

Capo: 0

Transpose: 0

0

Autoscroll20%

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Frequently asked questions

The original key of We Didn't Start The Fire by Billy Joel is G major.

The primary chords used in We Didn't Start The Fire are G, D, Em, C, Am.

No capo is required for this song.

Yes, this version uses open chords like G, D, Em, C, making it a great song for beginner guitarists.

If the simplified chords are too easy, you can visit the original chords page for a more advanced arrangement.

The tempo of We Didn't Start The Fire is approximately 145 beats per minute.

You can easily change the key of We Didn't Start The Fire using our Transpose button located in the toolbar. This will automatically update all chord diagrams on the page to match your new key.

Yes! Click the Print icon to generate a clean, one-page version of the chords and lyrics for We Didn't Start The Fire. This is perfect for practicing offline or adding to a physical songbook.

Yes, we have integrated a Mini-Tuner directly on this page. Use it to quickly check your string pitch (Standard Tuning: E A D G B E) before you start playing along with Billy Joel.

Absolutely. Click the Save or Heart icon to add We Didn't Start The Fire to your account. You can access all your saved songs under My Library at any time.

You can view the full chord sheet and lyrics for We Didn't Start The Fire by Billy Joel on this page for free. We provide high-quality, verified chords to help you start playing immediately.