For history buffs

Yeah, we remember the song. But do we remember the events?

Fire

I was so ready for something to jump out at me during that.

Those who know me know that one thing I have no tolerance for is practical jokes, so anything I post is straight up.

I LOVE this song!! And, yes I remember more than I am willing to admit

Actually, I came in during hostages in Iran (or at least that was the first thing I really remember....Now, what we need is a sequal.

My high school government teacher used that song as a learning tool. We listened to it and then each student had to research one of the events mentioned in the song. I think we then had a test on it and had to put the events in order of when they happened.

When the song first came out I was in 4th grade. One of the boys was totally obsessed with the song. Our teacher let us play it in class a couple times because it was educational. Then when we went on a field trip to a restaurant some of the other students did karoake to the song. Those were good times.

Obviously, I'm a little too young to actually remember any of the events.

Love the song, but don't know anything about the events....

I know of all of the events, as for remembering? Its hard to tell since we watch so much History programs on the TV. As for the song...I will be unpopular and say I did not like it much. I found it rambling insessently and hook laden to my ear. Besides, I like my entertainment uneducational! (If that is a word. ) Maybe I am writing stupidly.

Don't remember what spurred Billy Joel to write the song, but I remember the piece. And I am familiar with most of the things he names. Yes -I am a history nerd, too.

If I recall correctly, some event cause Joel to be annoyed that so many people today have no idea how we got here and the roots of our current politics.

I remember everything from 1957 on, and I remember having heard about a lot of the things before that. Of course, I used to get stuck with teaching History, too.

Originally Posted by mrblanche

If I recall correctly, some event cause Joel to be annoyed that so many people today have no idea how we got here and the roots of our current politics.

I remember everything from 1957 on, and I remember having heard about a lot of the things before that. Of course, I used to get stuck with teaching History, too.

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Jay Leno's Jay Walking perhaps?

Originally Posted by binkyhoo

I know of all of the events, as for remembering? Its hard to tell since we watch so much History programs on the TV. As for the song...I will be unpopular and say I did not like it much. I found it rambling insessently and hook laden to my ear. Besides, I like my entertainment uneducational! (If that is a word.

) Maybe I am writing stupidly.

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I understand what you're saying. Everything becomes a blur in the song, but that's the point. I'm glad this version actually had the words at the bottom because now I want to research the things I hadn't heard of. I don't think of it as an educational song...just a song about what has happened in the past years. And, it really does have a good beat!

Originally Posted by AddieBee

Jay Leno's Jay Walking perhaps?

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I remember when that song came out, the video was played a lot. As for Leno, was he even filling for Carson's absences, yet? I know he was on there at least a couple years before Carson quit.

I caught a lot of the references back then - I was an odd kid that spent a lot of time reading and watching documentaries, or discussing various things with my uncle. (how many kids know about various wars, military vehicles, and air craft by age 5?) Strangely, before starting school I read almost completely non-fiction.

I find it odd that people that have been through at least high school couldn't get these references now.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

I
I find it odd that people that have been through at least high school couldn't get these references now.

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Well, some of these references are to sports and I don't follow sports. And I'm not as much up on history as you are and while I know most of what they the song is talking about there are some I still am clueless about about, and I have do to my own research.

I had to look up the lyrics - never could understand anything beyond We didn't start the fire......mumble mumble slur slur followed by a tumble of words, where I could pick out (in random order of memory) Ho Chi Minh, Doris Day, Mickey Mantle, and a couple of others. The rest was unintelligible. Unfortunately, I remember all those things save one or two. Anything before the coronation, I don't remember except as stuff in the past talked about. I do remember my uncle getting the first TV in the district in either 1954 or 1955 as my grandmother was ill, and the tv gave her some little enjoyment. I also remember Studebaker cars - another uncle had a 1949 model, puke green with an exterior visor and I also remember Edsels with that silly horse collar insignia on the front. I remember my first polio shot, nasty thing, school mandated, but the shots didnt always work as there were still cases of polio well into the 60's. I also remember places that had no electricity except for a diesel powered generator, wood cooking ranges, ice boxes, propane fridges, bomardiers fitted as school buses because there were no roads in many areas that were fit for wheeled vehicles, a few people coming to town with horse and buggy (please remember, I live in a very rural area) and every farm had at least one horse and a small buggy. That said, the whole song, now that I have read the lyrics is just a litany of random events, mostly major from the late 40's on, and I am not certain that any one of them specifically prodded the writing of the song.

Originally Posted by calico2222

Well, some of these references are to sports and I don't follow sports. And I'm not as much up on history as you are and while I know most of what they the song is talking about there are some I still am clueless about about, and I have do to my own research.

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I'm not "up on history". As for the sports, I don't even remotely care for any sports and have never followed any sort of history of them, but DiMaggio, Mantle, and the '55 world series have worked into pop culture and get referenced so much that it would be impossible to have never heard of them. That can be said for most of the things mentioned, in fact.

the only one from the sports ones that I've heard of is DiMaggio and that is vaguely, I just know he was a baseball player...apparently Marciano was a boxer- I had never heard of him either..a lot of these things are pop culture so i don't know them but I love learning about past pop culture so I was glad to be looking them up
pop culture is the fun part of history IMO lol ...the asides that professors get distracted with that make their lectures fun for me I shouldn't be saying this being a history major but I can't help it- I don't like learning about battles and politics...(it's one thing I can tolerate though)

Originally Posted by strange_wings

I'm not "up on history".

As for the sports, I don't even remotely care for any sports and have never followed any sort of history of them, but DiMaggio, Mantle, and the '55 world series have worked into pop culture and get referenced so much that it would be impossible to have never heard of them. That can be said for most of the things mentioned, in fact.

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I've heard of DiMaggio and Mantle, but it's the boxing ones that I don't know anything about because I'm not a big sports fan. I'm not sure what the '55 world series is about, but that another thing I have to research.

Originally Posted by ut0pia

the only one from the sports ones that I've heard of is DiMaggio and that is vaguely, I just know he was a baseball player...

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Some probably also remember, but he was married to Marilyn Monroe for a short while. He was jealous of the attention she got, they fought a lot, and the marriage didn't even last a year.

Joe DiMaggio was indeed married to Marilyn Munro for a brief time, and never remarried; he died in 1999. I did, under pressure, watch Mantle play ball, along with others not mentioned, such as Roger Maris, Joe Pepitone, Don Drysdale (whom I knew more of through his horses), Sandy Koufax and many others.

Marciano was a boxing great - defeated his idol, Joe Louis in 1951, carried the title until he lost to Archie Moore in 1955, retired in 56, toyed with a comeback and died in 1969.

Went back through the lyrics and also found baseball player Roy Campanella, boxers Sonny Liston and Floyd Patterson. Many musical references - Presley, Dylan, Johnny Ray, Liberace as well as Hollywood references including Princess Grace and James Dean.

Taken apart and analysed, it is a series of snapshots of the lives of baby boomers in general.