Ladies and gentleman, I would like to wish you all a happy Song Parody Wednesday! I don’t always post song parodies on this blog, but when I do, it’s on a Wednesday!

Soon after I started this blog, I introduced my first two song parodies, Where’s the Toilet Paper Gone? and Westside. At the time, I thought those might be my only two that I would ever come up with. But now I have a third (and again maybe final) one to add to the list. This one, titled Ryan Started the Fire, is based on Billy Joel’s 1989 hit, We Didn’t Start the Fire.

I should mention that the idea behind the title Ryan Started the Fire is not original, and I’m sure was immediately recognized by fans of The Office. Also, just to be perfectly clear, I am not the Ryan to which this title refers. That distinction goes to The Office‘s Ryan Howard, who accidentally started a fire in the Season 2 episode The Fire, which led Dwight to sing an excerpt of the Billy Joel song, modified with the words “Ryan started the fire!” Let the record show that I have never started a fire, although the fact that my name is Ryan does lead to the occasional joke, asking if I have.

I should also mention that this song is not to be confused with another parody song out there, also called Ryan Started the Fire, featuring references to scenes from The Office. That song can be found on YouTube, but that’s not what this one is about.

The original song We Didn’t Start the Fire features references to world events from 1949-1989, or Billy Joel’s lifetime at the point he wrote that song. I figured that although Billy Joel had 40 years of events to choose from, this year has already been memorable enough that I could do an entire song featuring only events from 2020 so far (or in some cases, expected events later this year). So, this song is about the events of 2020, with reference to The Office in the modified chorus.

Also, just like with my other song parodies, I need to create a music video for this one. Or have someone more talented do it for me. But that will have to wait for another date. Dibs on the rights to it though. In the meantime, the lyric video for We Didn’t Start the Fire can be found at the bottom. Feel free to play that if you need a frame of reference, and perhaps see if you can sing along with the new lyrics. And now, without further adieu, here is my song parody, Ryan Started the Fire:

"Ryan Started the Fire"

2020 has been reached, Donald Trump impeached
Keeps his job as President of the United States
Turkey vs. Syria, new disease in China
Twenty candidates in the Democrat debates
Kobe Bryant gone too soon, Where is Kim Jong Un?
Chiefs 4th quarter roll to win the Super Bowl
Qasem Soleimani killed, Iran is not too thrilled
We've found a black hole, hope we don't feel its pull!

Ryan started the fire
It just started burning
Hey, the temp's still learning
Ryan started the fire
No, he didn't light it
Although Dwight did find it

The killing of George Floyd exposed a race relations void
Let's also say goodbye to others gone before us
Gianna Bryant, Little Richard, Jerry Stiller, Fred Willard
Kirk Douglas, David Stern, Ravi Zacharias
New virus spreads worldwide forcing everyone to hide
Is China to blame?  Postponed Olympic games
Stock market nosedive, little reason to drive
Dr. Fauci rise to fame, things will never be the same

Ryan started the fire
It just started burning
Hey, the temp's still learning
Ryan started the fire
No, he didn't light it
Although Dwight did find it

Murder hornets, 5G, Nova Scotia killing spree
Ryan Benbow starts a blog!  "Early spring" per groundhog
Vote by mail, Zoom chats, COVID-infected tigercats
Work from home every day, everyone six feet away
Black Lives Matter protests all across the U.S.
Looting, riots, and arrests, massive civil unrest
U.S. total end of May: COVID deaths 100K
Derek Chauvin psycho, Ebola's in the Congo

Ryan started the fire
It just started burning
Hey, the temp's still learning
Ryan started the fire
No, he didn't light it
Although Dwight did find it

Joseph Biden, Donald Trump, big election coming up
Kaepernick: one more chance?  Michael Jordan's Last Dance
Schools close, Tom Hanks, trouble in the big banks
No vaccine, quarantine, no more toilet paper seen
Travel ban, Weinstein, panic, COVID-19
NBA gone away, what else do I have to say?

Ryan started the fire
It just started burning
Hey, the temp's still learning
Ryan started the fire
No, he didn't light it
Although Dwight did find it

John Krasinski's SGN, NBA back again
NASA launches SpaceX, people wonder what's next
E-learning's a hard time, graduation's online
U.S. vs. Iran, withdrawal from Afghanistan
Sports anthem taking knees, people talking Drew Brees
CDC, economy, this is 2020
A year like we've never seen, "Simpsons called this whole thing!"
It's not yet July 4, I can't take it anymore!

Ryan started the fire
It just started burning
Hey, the temp's still learning
Ryan started the fire
But when this year is gone
Will it still burn on, and on, and on, and on...

Ryan started the fire
It just started burning
Hey, the temp's still learning
Ryan started the fire
No, he didn't light it
Although Dwight did find it

Ryan started the fire
It just started burning
Hey, the temp's still learning
Ryan started the fire
No, he didn't light it
Although Dwight did find it