If this year were to be a song it would be “We didn’t start the fire” by Billy Joel. A friend of his who was 21 at the time inspired him to write the song saying, “it’s a terrible time to be 21!”

Which is exactly how Joel felt when he was 21.

The song’s lyrics mention key figures and events spanning decades; however, I think this year alone the news has read like this fast-paced song with events being big until the next one happened.

“We didn’t start the fire” means we have inherited chaotic issues from previous generations and must deal with it. The current “fire” of global chaos and conflict is nothing new, but each generation have had their own turmoil to deal with.

References brought up in the song still have relevance today such as “JFK blown away” as political assassinations are still a major issue in especially United States politics.

He brings up Palestine and could have been referencing the violence in the region which unfortunately doesn’t look like will stop anytime soon.

Many people are so desensitised to sensitive topics that when we read the news, we have a sense of cynicism. Social media has democratised who gives us information and who can react to it.

Things that we would have never seen before social media means issues such as conflicts are reported by those living through it.

Themes brought up in a 2025 remake of this song would include: Artificial Intelligence; climate change; global conflicts and violence in general.

The line “no, we didn’t light it, but we tried to fight it” can be seen when communities rebuild after disasters and workers adapt to the changes from AI.

Despite the flames, people continue trying to manage and extinguish these flames.

2025 can’t be defined by one catastrophic moment, but several of them.

Image credit: Evie Smith