Fall Out Boy's 'misguided' cover of 'We Didn't Start the Fire' divides fans

Pop-punk band Fall Out Boy has left fans divided with their new cover of Billy Joel’s “We Didn't Start the Fire” with lyrics referencing news from 1989 to 2023.

The updated version of Joel’s song picks up where the original number one single from 1989 left off, beginning in 1989 and ending in the present day.

References include memorable moments in pop culture including the death of Michael Jackson, the Twilight movie franchise, as well as other more political points, such as the police killing of George Floyd that sparked a global movement.

Talking points vary from the extremes of terrorism to the viral internet moments, with topics including Brexit, 9/11(marked by the lyrics “World Trade second plane”), the Boston Marathon bombing, QAnon and Kanye interrupting Taylor Swift at the Grammys all referenced.

One lyric said: “Trump gets impeached twice. Polar bears got no ice. Fyre Fest, Black Parade. Michael Phelps, Y2K.”

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Fall Out Boy - We Didn't Start the Fire (Lyric Video)www.youtube.com

Fans of the band have been divided in their response to the track, with some suggesting the lyrics are distasteful.

One person wrote: “I don't think I was actually prepared for how misguided and offensive the Fall Out Boy "We Didn't Start The Fire" lyrics actually are. I did not make these up; this is real.”

Another said: “Incredible lyrics in that Fall Out Boy version of We Didn’t Start the Fire.”

“The Fall Out Boy ‘We Didn't Start the Fire’ cover is kind of amazing in the sense that it 1) does not adhere to any kind of even loosely chronological order and 2) chooses to have some of the most unhinged lyrical juxtapositions I've ever heard in a pop song,” another person argued.

But, someone else wrote: "Fall out boy doing a modern version of 'we didn't start the fire' is literally giving me life rn."

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