We Didn't Start the Fire

lyrics by Derrick Hughes and Melissa Cannon
tune by Billy Joel

Palestine, Islam, Mount of Olives, Ramadan
Hebron, Beit Jalah, UN 242
Tear gas, Zionism, Herzl, Judaism
Yitzak Rabin, Netanyehu
Nablus, Bethlehem, East and West Jerusalem
Jordan Valley, Arab League, Arafat, Allenby
Golan Heights, Haganah, IDF, Diaspora
Kidron, Samaria, Oslo, mass-hysteria

We didn't cheat the Muslims
We've had valid title ever since the Bible
Since our guns are bigger
There'll be no "Shalom," 'til we get our home

Tel Aviv, Yom Kippur, Green Line, settlers' war
Rubber bullets, temple mount--we'll never give it back
Suez, Fatah, Al-Aqsa Intifada
British Mandate, Jaffa Road, suicide attack
US tanks, CNN, Western Wall, Begin
"Uzi Does It," Galilee, Star of David, M-16
Churchill, liberation, West Bank occupation
Deportation, Sykes-Picot, Jihad and the PLO

We'll never yield to Israel
Palestine's our home, 'cause we've got the Dome
We want ALL our land back
And we'll keep defending 'til the world is ending.

White Paper, PNA, Ramallah's getting blown away
Gaza Strip, Old City, Haram-al-Sharif
Eretz Israel, fighting over Jacob's Well
Coalition government, armed to the teeth
Crescent moon, minaret, haven't got our land back yet
Camp David, terrorists, vested US interests
'67, '73, at lest we still have sovereignty
Labor, Likud and Sharon, Bill Clinton's on the phone!

We didn't start this conflict
We try to do them favors, but they're not great neighbors
This is a crazy country
Everywhere you turn another car is burnin'

Balfour, Mazel Tov, Yarmulke, Orthodox
Helicopter gunships, 48-hour clock
Jericho, Syria, Sinai, Hizbullah
Just Peace, A-Zone, Dome of the Rock
Independence, 6 Day War, nothings changed-let's fight some more!
Assad, Hussein and Sadat, Lebanon and Iraq
Summit at Sharm al-Sheik, Holy War in '48
Molatov cocktail, tell Barak to go to------well...

It's not easy being Arab
We throw a lot of rocks, and walk out on talks
But we want to make a point here
So we start some fires and we burn some tires

JC Lockdown, we're all stuck in Mormontown
Eating rice, not pairing off and watching CNN
Security meetings every night, stupid questions left and right
What if what if what if what if--will it ever end?
Chess club, Tae-Bo, field trips are a no-go
The only thing that changes here is Aaron Welling's bed
Never-ending email line, some say Licky tastes sublime
FHE, D&E, experience in the Galilee!

We're just a bunch of students
We didn't mean to be near during World War III here
We just want to leave the Center
Get our olive wood, and go home for good
And when we are gone, this will still go on, and on, and on, and on...