Fall Out Boy have referenced Meghan Markle and the late Queen Elizabeth in their new song, an updated version of Billy Joel's 1989 classic 'We Didn't Start The Fire', which you can listen to at the bottom of this page.
Picking up where Billy's original left off, the lyrics cover major world events from 1989 to 2023 and in the third verse, after references Kanye West and Taylor Swift's feud, and the popularity of TV shows Stranger Things and Tiger King, the lyrics turn to tragic events, with singer Patrick Stump singing: "Sandy Hook, Columbine / Sandra Bland and Tamir Rice / ISIS, Lebron James / Shinzo Abe blown away. Meghan Markle, George Floyd / Burj Khalifa, Metroid / Fermi paradox / Venus and Serena."
© Photo: Getty ImagesSandy Hook and Columbine were both among the deadliest school shootings in the US, while the death of George Floyd in May 2020 sparked global protests and seismic changes to the way we view and discuss institutional racism.
In the fourth verse, the band references major technological advances but also the deaths of two of the 20th century's most iconic personalities, the artist Prince and Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September 2022.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThey then close the song with the most defining moment in history of the last 35 years, the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11 2001: "Mars rover, Avatar / Self-driving electric cars / S-S-R-Is / Prince and the Queen die / World Trade, second plane / What else do I have to say?" '
In a surprising omission, the song does not make mention of the global Covid-19 pandemic which claimed millions of lives and effectively shut down the world for two years.
Meghan and her husband Prince Harry stepped down from Britain's royal family amid claims of racism within the institution. In 2021 Harry and Meghan gave a sit down interview with Oprah Winfrey in which they said that a member of the royal family had asked Harry what color their baby was likely to be; the couple were widely seen to be suggesting that some within the institution were racist.
© Getty ImagesIn 2023 however Harry denied the claims. While promoting his autobiography Spare, he responded defensively when told he had accused the royal family of being racist, replying: "No I didn't… The British press said that".
He went on to challenge his interviewer: "Did – did Meghan ever mention that they're racist?" To which Tom replied: "She said there were troubling comments about Archie’s skin color". Harry confirmed: "There was concern about his skin color," after which Tom asked: "Right. Wouldn’t you describe that as essentially racist?"
"I wouldn’t, not having lived within that family," Harry said.
George died on May 25 2020 in Minneapolis after police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck, even after he pleaded that he couldn't breathe.
#BlackLivesMatter protests were held across the US and around the world, in London and Berlin, against the killing of George and many other victims due to racism and police brutality.
Addressing graduating students at her old school, the Immaculate Heart High School, Meghan gave a moving speech in which she said that the news had been "absolutely devastating".
"I wasn't sure what I could say to you. I wanted to say the right thing and I was really nervous that I wouldn't, or it would get picked apart. And I realized the only wrong thing to say is to say nothing, because George Floyd's life mattered, and Breonna Taylor's life mattered and Philando Castile's life mattered and Tamir Rice's life mattered, and so did so many other people," she said.
