No, they definitely didn't start the fire, but kudos to Fall Out Boy for trying to update it. The pop-emo rock darlings have released a cover of the Billy Joel classic We Didn't Start The Fire, with updated lyrics to reflect current events of the past thirty-four years. Billy Joel's original 1989 historical anthem chronicled important world events from just after World War II, through the Cold War era, and up to 1989. Fall Out Boy decided to pick up where Joel left off — keeping the emblematic chorus but updating the historical events for a new generation, spanning from 1989 to the present.

Covering a classic — and changing the lyrics no less — is never an easy task, but Fall Out Boy's ambitious effort is hearteningly fun, and the band is trending quite heavily this morning thanks to the release. The one major criticism being leveled at the cover is that Fall Out Boy's version, unlike Billy Joel's, delivers lyrics and historical events out of chronological order. Billy Joel painted a vivid picture of the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, decade by decade, building to a crescendo when he got up to his present era. Fall Out Boy seemed to opt for bouncing around between decades to suit its rhyme pattern. Unless that was some sort of commentary on the fractured way kids are being taught in schools nowadays.

Either way, there are still some winning lines and references to be sure. The Chicago-area band had to give a shoutout to its Chicago Cubs for ending their 108-year World Series drought, to MySpace (the platform where Fall Out Boy first garnered attention), and to the “iceland volcano” (which nicely fits into the tempo and spot Joel reserved for his “Joe DiMaggio” lyric). There are many famous sports figures referenced in the new lines as well — like Tiger Woods, Michael Phelps, LeBron James and Michael Jordan (though Fall Out Boy doesn't weigh in on the debate about who is the GOAT).

Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy took to Twitter to explain about the cover, “I thought about this song a lot when I was younger. All these important people and events- some that disappeared into the sands of time- others that changed the world forever. So much has happened in the span of the last 34 years- we felt like a little system update might be fun. Hope you like our take on it…”

Whether you think it's fire, or sacrilege to a classic, you've got to give it up to Fall Out Boy for trying to keep Billy Joel's masterpiece burning for a new era.