--- title: Stephen King’s American History, as Channeled Through Billy Joel, Courtesy of a ‘Simpsons’ Producer description: This post includes spoilers for Stephen King's 11/22/63 and for the Billy Joel song "We Didn't Start the Fire." Yes, both. Matt Selman, an executive... canonical: https://time.com/archive/7121489/stephen-king-channeled-through-billy-joel-all-courtesy-of-a-simpsons-producer/ author: Matt Selman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2012-08-29T14:05:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-25T05:58:41.531Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Billy Joel Meets Stephen King Meets 'The Simpsons' og:description: In which 'Simpsons' executive producer Matt Selman changes the words to "We Didn't Start the Fire" og:url: https://time.com/archive/7121489/stephen-king-channeled-through-billy-joel-all-courtesy-of-a-simpsons-producer/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt059453e156d5f2a3/698a8faedb29875df9271666/untitled-11.jpg?branch=production&width=600&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 600 og:image:height: 338 og:image:alt: Billy Joel / Stephen King og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Billy Joel Meets Stephen King Meets 'The Simpsons' twitter:description: In which 'Simpsons' executive producer Matt Selman changes the words to "We Didn't Start the Fire" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt059453e156d5f2a3/698a8faedb29875df9271666/untitled-11.jpg?branch=production&width=600&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) # Stephen King's American History, as Channeled Through Billy Joel, Courtesy of a 'Simpsons' Producer > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [Matt Selman](https://time.com/author/matt-selman/) Aug 29, 2012 2:05 PM UTC  Billy Joel: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images by [Matt Selman](https://time.com/author/matt-selman/) Aug 29, 2012 2:05 PM UTC _This post includes spoilers for Stephen King’s_ 11/22/63 _and for the Billy Joel song “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” Yes, both._ Matt Selman, an executive producer of _The Simpsons_, has undertaken the task of writing the version of Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire” as it would have been recorded in the universe of Stephen King’s [_11/22/63_](http://entertainment.time.com/2011/11/02/in-stephen-kings-latest-trying-to-stop-lee-harvey-oswald/), in which JFK’s assassination is foiled at the last minute by George Amberson (Jake Epping), based on an idea co-conceived by _Simpsons_ writer Tim Long. He has replaced the original lyrics with only the specific historical references King includes in his revisionist history of the second half of the 20th century. For added verisimilitude, he has included lyrics about historical events that are mentioned to have happened in both timelines, King’s and ours. Why? Because this is a thing he does, and it’s [not the first such song parody Matt Selman has written about for TIME](http://techland.time.com/2009/04/16/we-didnt-start-the-song-parody/). “A few ‘real’ references have been included because A) I inferred they would have also have occurred in the King Universe, and B) I ran out of new historical information, of which the book does not give much,” Selman says. “Also, for some reason unknowable alternative history reason, alternative history Billy Joel chose to put out this version of ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’ in 2012.” Without further ado: **“WE DIDN’T START THE FIRE” BY BILLY JOEL (STEPHEN KING “11/22/63” VERSION)** Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnny Ray South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, Television North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe Rosenberg, H-Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom Brando, The King And I, and The Catcher In The Rye, Eisenhower, Vaccine, England’s got a new queen Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye We didn’t start the fire It was always burning Since the world’s been turning We didn’t start the fire No, we didn’t light it But we tried to fight it Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiov, Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron Dien Bien Phu Falls, Rock Around the Clock Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn’s got a winning team Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev Princess Grace, Peyton Place, Trouble in the Suez We didn’t start the fire It was always burning Since the world’s been turning We didn’t start the fire No, we didn’t light it But we tried to fight it Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac Sputnik, Zhou Enlai, Bridge On The River Kwai Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California baseball Starkweather Homicide, Children of Thalidomide Buddy Holly, Ben Hur, Space Monkey, Mafia, Hula Hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go U2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy, Chubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the Congo We didn’t start the fire It was always burning Since the world’s been turning We didn’t start the fire No, we didn’t light it But we tried to fight it Hemingway, Eichmann, Stranger in a Strange Land, Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatle mania Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British Politician sex, J.F.K. NOT BLOWN AWAY, AMBERSON SAVES THE DAY! We didn’t start the fire It was always burning Since the world’s been turning We didn’t start the fire No, we didn’t light it But we tried to fight it Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, EARTHQUAKE IN LOS ANGELES MARTIN SHOT, SAIGON ROCKED, CHICAGO BURNS, HANOI DROP WALLACE DEAD, CURT LEMAY, BYE-BYE BOMBAY Ayatollah’s in Iran, RONALD REAGAN’S DEADLY PLAN BLIND BEATLE, JONESTOWN, VERMONT YANKEE MELTDOWN FORD BREEZE, MORE QUAKES, AIDS, Crack, MIAMI SHAKES HOKKAIDO IS UNDER SEAS, PRESIDENT HILARY MAINE LEAVES USA, WHAT ELSE DO I HAVE TO SAY? We didn’t start the fire It was always burning since the world’s been turning. We didn’t start the fire But when we are gone It will still burn on, and on, and on, and on… ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7121489/stephen-king-channeled-through-billy-joel-all-courtesy-of-a-simpsons-producer/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7121489/stephen-king-channeled-through-billy-joel-all-courtesy-of-a-simpsons-producer/"},"headline":"Stephen King's American History, as Channeled Through Billy Joel, Courtesy of a 'Simpsons' Producer","datePublished":"2012-08-29T14:05:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-25T05:58:41.531Z","description":"This post includes spoilers for Stephen King's 11/22/63 and for the Billy Joel song \"We Didn't Start the Fire.\" Yes, both. 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