How Billy Joel Can Keep the ‘Fire’ Going
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
By Michael Malone
I had a few thoughts while seeing Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden recently: That it was odd to be around 20,000 people, none of them wearing masks, all of them singing “Piano Man”; and that Joel might have a bit more songwriting to do in these frenetic times.
The second thought arrived during the encore when Joel played “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” The song has Joel boil down 40 years of world news into four and a half minutes, from Harry Truman on to Belgians in the Congo, and finally the cola wars.
The pace of news these past few years, as anyone not living under a rock would attest, has been relentless, between Covid and George Floyd, the White House insurrection and the war in Ukraine, and President Trump hardly stepping into the shadows. What if Joel added another verse to “We Didn’t Start the Fire” to reflect these frenzied times? The song came out in 1989. The final verse mentions subway shooter Bernie Goetz, AIDS, and hypodermics on the shore. It’s hardly news.
People either love “We Didn’t Start the Fire” or they hate it. The song frequently pops up on those all-time, most-loathed pop songs lists–not as high as “Achy Breaky Heart,” but frightfully close. In college a few decades ago, we had a VHS tape of Joel playing Saturday Night Live. With no cable TV, we played the tape often. I made my housemates stay quiet during “Downeaster Alexa.” They could talk during “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”
But I also saw a full arena in New York last month, up on their feet, dancing, singing about Red China and Johnny Ray.
Joel’s last album was River of Dreams way back in 1993. He probably doesn’t have another album in him, and maybe not even a new track. But a fresh verse? That sounds doable.
If Joel gets writer’s block, social media can help. As the pandemic became a giant U.S. story in March 2020, comedy writer Matt Warburton (@MCWarburton) tweeted, “Today was like if ‘we didn’t start the fire’ was a day.”
Twitter took it from there. @bellabee13 offered, “Schools close, Tom Hanks, trouble in the big banks, no vaccine, quarantine, no more toilet paper seen. Travel ban, Weinstein, panic COVID-19, NBA, gone away, what else do I have to sayyyyyy.”
Joel is 73. Good for him for showing up at the Garden each month, keeping those songs alive for old-timers and the next generation alike. I, for one, don’t plan on working much when I’m 73. But if I had a chance to make one of my hit songs more relevant, I’d go for it. The song mentions England getting a new queen. The new verse can respectfully bury her. One more verse! If @bellabee13 can do it, Billy sure as hell can too.
Joel next plays MSG November 23. Most of the songs people come to the Garden to see Joel play came out in the ‘70s. “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant” dates back to 1977, “New York State of Mind” to 1976, and “Piano Man” way back to 1973. T-shirts at the show tout Joel’s 50 years in rock ‘n roll. Adding a current verse to one of his best-known songs would be a fitting way to celebrate a half-century in the game.
If I can borrow a verse from another Billy Joel tune, we could use someone to tell the world about, the way the lights went out, and keep the memory alive.
Michael Malone lives in Hawthorne. His journalism has appeared in the NY Times, the Journal News and Westchester Magazine. He first saw Billy Joel in 1986, at the Garden, when he brought some New York Mets onstage, days before they entered the World Series.
Examiner Media – Keeping you informed with professionally-reported local news, features, and sports coverage.
