“We Didn’t Start the Fire” received an update today (June 28) courtesy of Fall Out Boy. The original version by Billy Joel recounted notable historical moments from 1949-1989. Meanwhile, Fall Out Boy’s update highlights major events and figures from 1989-2023.
With the release of their updated version, Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz said, “I thought about this song a lot when I was younger. All these important people and events- some that disappeared into the sands of time- others that changed the world forever. So much has happened in the span of the last 34 years- we felt like a little system update might be fun. Hope you like our take on it…”
Fall Out Boy had a lot of ground to cover in the song, because a lot has happened in the past 34 years. The band did a great job featuring a diverse variety of topics. They namechecked Kurt Cobain, John Wayne Bobbit, 9/11, Balloon Boy, deep fakes, Kim Jong Un, Fyre Fest, Taylor Swift and so much more. However, there were some notable omissions from the song that we think were major moments of the past 30+ years.
Here are just ten major moments missing from Fall Out Boy’s update on “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”
