Billy Joel is all for Fall Out Boy’s cover of “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”
As previously reported, the rockers put their own spin on the 1989 hit, replacing the original’s lyrics with updated references to pop culture and world events over the last 34 years.
During an interview with BBC Radio 2, Joel says he welcomes Fall Out Boy’s sequel, especially since he didn’t particularly feel like doing one, himself.
“Everybody’s been wanting to know when there’s gonna be an updated version of it,” the Piano Man says. “‘Cause my song started in ’49, and ended in ’89 — a 40-year span. And everybody said, ‘When are you gonna do part two?’ … I said, ‘Nah, I’ve already done part one.”
He adds, “So Fall Out Boy, go ahead, great, take it away!”
Fall Out Boy released their “We Didn’t Start the Fire” in June, replacing references to Buddy Holly, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley with Kurt Cobain, Pokémon and “Tom DeLonge and aliens,” among many others.
The group may want to be careful if they ever plan to sing the song live, as Joel admits it isn’t an easy one to get through.
“Sometimes I’m watching people sing along hoping they’ll guide me because you get one word wrong and it’s a train wreck,” he said, noting he once messed it up in Toronto. “I forgot the words and then I just stopped the song, and the crowd made this noise like ‘ahhh,’” he explained, “so you know it’s like walking on a tightrope with that thing.”
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