Whakamahia te rerenga e whai ake nei: I whakaaro a Hoera ki te waiata i a ia e 40 noa iho ona tau. I roto ia i tētahi whare whakairo, ka tutaki ki tētahi hoa 21-tau-tau o Sean Lennon nāna i ki mai "He wā kino tēnei ki te 21!" Ka whakahokia e Hoera ki a ia, "Ae, e mahara ana ahau i te 21 o oku tau <unk> I whakaaro ahau he wā whakamataku, ā, i Vietnam, ā, e mōhio ana koe, he raruraru tarukino, he raruraru tika tangata, ā, he mea whakamataku katoa". Ka whakahoki te hoa, "Ae, ae, ae, engari he rerekē ki a koe. He tamaiti koe i nga tau rima tekau, ā, e mōhio ana te katoa kāore he mea i tupu i nga tau rima tekau". Joel whakahokia, "Taria te meneti, kihai i rongo koutou o te Pakanga Korean ranei te
Ko te raru o Suez Canal?" I muri mai ka mea a Joel ko aua upoko korero te anga taketake mo te waiata. Kua whakahe ano a Joel i te waiata i runga i nga take puoro. I te tau 1993, i a ia e korerorero ana ki te kaihanga kiriata tuhinga a David Horn, i whakataurite a Joel i te kiko o tana waiata ki tana waiata "The Longest Time": "Tangohia he waiata penei i te 'We Didn't Start the Fire.' Ehara i te mea nui o te waiata... Ki te whakaaro koe ki te waiata anake, he kino rawa. He rite ki te pūwhāiti niho".