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Billy Joel - We Didn’t Start The Fire Ukulele Chords

ChordsG, D, Am, C, Em
Strumming↓-↓↑-↓↑-↓↑

Before you play, tune your ukulele and use the tools below to set up your view and flow.

GHarryTruman,DorisDay,DRedChina,JohnnieRay
AmSouthPacific,WalterWinchell,CJoeDiMaggio
GJoeMcCarthy,RichardNixon,DStudebaker,television
AmNorthKorea,SouthKorea,CMarilynMonroe
GDAmC
GRosenbergs,H-bomb,DSugarRay,Panmunjom
AmBrando,“TheKingandI”Cand“TheCatcherintheRye”
GEisenhower,vaccine,DEngland’sgotanewqueen
AmMarciano,Liberace,CSantayanagoodbye
GWedidn’tstarttheDfire;
ItwasAmalwaysburning,
SincetheCworld’sbeenturning
GWedidn’tstarttheDfire
NoweAmdidn’tlightit,
ButweCtriedtofightit
GJosephStalin,Malenkov,DNasserandProkofiev
AmRockefeller,Campanella,CCommunistBloc
GRoyKahn,JuanPeron,DToscanini,Dacron
AmDienBienPhufalls, C“RockAroundtheClock”
GEinstein,JamesDean,DBrooklyn’sgotawinningteam
AmDavyCrockett,PeterPan,CElvisPresley,Disneyland
GBardot,Budapest,DAlabama,Khrushchev
AmPrincessGrace,“PeytonPlace”,CtroubleintheSuez
GWedidn’tstarttheDfire;
ItwasAmalwaysburning,
SincetheCworld’sbeenturning
GWedidn’tstarttheDfire
NoweAmdidn’tlightit,
ButweCtriedtofightit
AmLittleRock,Pasternak,EmMickeyMantle,Kerouac
AmSputnik,ChouEn-Lai,D“BridgeontheRiverKwai”
AmLebanon,CharlesdeGaulle,EmCaliforniabaseball
AmStarkweather,homicide,Dchildrenofthalidomide
GBuddyHolly,“BenHur”,Dspacemonkey,Mafia
AmHulahoops,Castro,CEdselisano-go
GU-2,SyngmanRhee,DpayolaandKennedy
AmChubbyChecker,“Psycho”,CBelgiansintheCongo
GWedidn’tstarttheDfire
ItwasAmalwaysburning,
SincetheCworld’sbeenturning
GWedidn’tstarttheDfire
NoweAmdidn’tlightit,
ButweCtriedtofightit
GHemingway,Eichmann, D“StrangerinaStrangeLand”
AmDylan,Berlin,CBayofPigsinvasion
G“LawrenceofArabia”,DBritishBeatlemania
AmOleMiss,JohnGlenn,CListonbeatsPatterson
GPopePaul,MalcolmX,DBritishpoliticiansex
AmJFK,blownaway,CwhatelsedoIhavetosay
GWedidn’tstarttheDfire
ItwasAmalwaysburning,
SincetheCworld’sbeenturning
GWedidn’tstarttheDfire
NoweAmdidn’tlightit,
ButweCtriedtofightit
GBirthcontrol,HoChiMinh,DRichardNixonbackagain
AmMoonshot,Woodstock,CWatergate,punkrock
GBegin,Reagan,Palestine,Dterrorontheairline
AmAyatollah’sinIran,CRussiansinAfghanistan
G“WheelofFortune”,SallyRide,Dheavymetal,suicide
AmForeigndebts,homelessvets,CAIDS,crack,BernieGoetz
GHypodermicsontheshores,DChina’sundermartiallaw
AmRockandrollercolawars,CIcan’ttakeitanymore
GWedidn’tstarttheDfire
ItwasAmalwaysburning,
SincetheCworld’sbeenturning
GWedidn’tstarttheDfire
ButwhenAmwearegone
WillitCstillburnon,andGon,andDon,andAmonC
WillitCstillburnon,andGon,andDon,andAmonC
AlbumStorm Front
GenresPop
Year1989
KeyG
DifficultyEasy

How to play We Didn't Start The Fire on Ukulele (Step-by-step)

Billy Joel - We Didn't Start The Fire on ukulele requires 5 chords and 5 core chord transitions. You can find the full step-by-step guide below. Before you start, tune your instrument. The song uses the ↓-↓↑-↓↑-↓↑ pattern; practice it muted first, or simplify to downstrokes while you learn the changes.

We Didn't Start The Fire uses these transitions most often: D → Am (31), Am → C (30), and G → D (30). These transitions may feel a little challenging at first, but with steady practice you can play this song quickly.When you are ready, begin with G - D chord transition.

1. G → D chord transition

To move from G to D:

  1. Lift your index finger from C string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from A string fret 2 to C string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger on E string from fret 3 to fret 2.

This transition appears in the section, played 30 times.

G to D

2. D → Am chord transition

Switching from D to Am:

  1. While playing D, first lift your index finger and ring finger.
  2. Lift your middle finger from C string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 2.

This transition appears in the section, played 31 times.

D to Am

3. Am → C chord transition

To move from Am to C:

  1. While playing Am, lift your middle finger from G string fret 2.
  2. Place ring finger on A string fret 3.

This transition appears in the section, played 30 times.

Am to C

4. C → G chord transition

Here's how to move from C to G:

  1. Lift your ring finger from A string fret 3 and place it on E string fret 3.
  2. Place index finger on C string fret 2.
  3. Place middle finger on A string fret 2.

This transition appears in the section, played 28 times.

C to G

5. Am → Em chord transition

Switching from Am to Em:

  1. Lift your middle finger from G string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 3.
  2. Place index finger on A string fret 2.
  3. Place ring finger on C string fret 4.

This transition appears in the section, played 2 times.

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in We Didn't Start The Fire.

  • We Didn't Start The Fire includes 127 chord transitions, 5 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.03% of all chord transitions in Ukulelearn.
  • We Didn't Start The Fire contains 2 of the top 10 transitions across Ukulelearn.
  • These transition patterns show how We Didn't Start The Fire connects to the rest of Ukulelearn. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After Am, the most likely next chords across Ukulelearn are F (26%), G (21%), and C (16%).
    • Am → C: 16%
    • Am → Em: 10%
    After D, the most likely next chords across Ukulelearn are G (28%), A (17%), and Em (17%).
    • D → G: 28%
    • D → Am: 4%