Artist: Billy Joel    Genre: Adult Contemporary    Roman Numerals: I, II, IIsus2, iii, V, vi    Instrument: Guitar - Standard Tuning [E,A,D,G,B,E]   
Song Notes:  
Entered by: ClimberStephen   
C
(C,E,G)

x,3,2,0,1,0
- C E G C E
D
(D,F♯,A)

- - D A D F♯
Dsus2
(D,E,A)

x,x,0,2,3,0
- - D A D E
Em
(E,G,B)

E B E G B E
G
(G,B,D)

G B D G B G
Am
(A,C,E)

- A E A C E


Intro
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
[CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
[CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]

Verse 1 (1949-1950)
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
Harry Truman, Doris Day,
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
Red China, Johnnie Ray
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
South Pacific, Walter Winchell,
[CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]
Joe DiMaggio.
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon,
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
Studebaker, television,
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
North Korea, South Korea,
[CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]
Marilyn Monroe.

Instrumental
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
[CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]

Verse 2 (1951-1952)
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
Rosenberg's, H-bomb,
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
Sugar Ray, Panmunjom,
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
Brando, "The King and I"
[CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]
and "The Catcher in the Rye".
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
Eisenhower, vaccine,
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
England's got a new queen,
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
Marciano, Liberace,
[CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]
Santayana, goodbye!

Chorus
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
We didn't start the
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
fire;
It was [AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
always burning,
Since the [CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]
world's been turnin'
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
We didn't start the
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
fire
No we [AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
didn't light it,
But we [CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]
tried to fight it.

Verse 3 (1953-1954)
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
Joseph Stalin, Malenkov,
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
Nasser and Prokofiev,
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
Rockefeller, Campanella,
[CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]
Communist Bloc.
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
Roy Kahn, Juan Peron,
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
Toscanini, Dacron,
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
Dien Bien Phu falls,
[CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]
"Rock Around the Clock".

Verse 4 (1955-1956)
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
Einstein, James Dean,
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
Brooklyn's got a winning team,
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan,
[CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]
Elvis Presley, Disneyland.
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
Bardot, Budapest,
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
Alabama, Khrushchev,
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
Princess Grace, "Peyton Place",
[CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]
trouble in the Suez!
Repeat Chorus

Bridge (1957-1958)
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
Little Rock, Pasternak,
[EmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Third
]
Mickey Mantle, Kerouac,
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
Sputnik, Chou En-Lai,
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
"Bridge on the River Kwai".
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle,
[EmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Third
]
California baseball,
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
Stark weather, homicide,
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
children of thalidomide.
[Dsus2Suspended 2nd Chord (U,M2,P5)
on the Major Second
]
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]

Verse 5 (1959-1960)
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
Buddy Holly, "Ben Hur",
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
space monkey, Mafia
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
Hula hoops, Castro,
[CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]
Edsel is a no-go.
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
U-2, Syngman Rhee,
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
Payola and Kennedy,
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
Chubby Checker, "Psycho",
[CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]
Belgians in the Congo!
Repeat Chorus

Verse 6 (1961-1963)
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
Hemingway, Eichmann, "
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
Stranger in a Strange Land",
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
Dylan, Berlin,
[CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]
Bay of Pigs invasion.
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
"Lawrence of Arabia",
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
British Beatle mania,
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
Ole Miss, John Glenn,
[CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]
Liston beats Patterson.
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
Pope Paul, Malcolm X,
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
British politician sex,
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
JFK, blown away,
[CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]
what else do I have to say?!
Repeat Chorus

Verse 7 (1964-1979)
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
Birth control, Ho Chi Minh,
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
Richard Nixon back again,
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
Moon shot, Woodstock,
[CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]
Watergate, punk rock,
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
Begin, Reagan, Palestine,
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
terror on the airline,
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
Ayatollah's in Iran,
[CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]
Russians in Afghanistan.

Verse 8 (1980-1989)
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
"Wheel of Fortune", Sally Ride,
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
heavy metal, suicide,
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
Foreign debts, homeless vets,
[CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]
AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz.
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
Hypodermics on the shores,
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
China's under martial law,
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
Rock an' roller cola wars,
[CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]
I can't take it anymore!

Outro Chorus
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
We didn't start the
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
fire;
It was [AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
always burning,
Since the [CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]
world's been turnin'
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
We didn't start the
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
fire
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
But when
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
we are gone
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
Will it
[CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]
still burn on, and
[GMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Fifth
]
on, and
[DMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Major Second
]
on, and
[AmMinor Chord (U,m3,P5)
on the Major Sixth
]
on...
[CMajor Chord (U,M3,P5)
on the Perfect Unison
]

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