Question: meaning of the song we didnt start the fire

title: We Didn't Start the Fire
text: Harry Truman was inaugurated as U.S. president after being elected in 1948 to his second and final presidential term ; previously he was sworn in following the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt . He authorized the use of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan during World War II , on August 6 and 9 , 1945 , respectively . Doris Day enters the public spotlight with the films My Dream Is Yours and It 's a Great Feeling as well as popular songs like `` It 's Magic '' . Red China : The Communist Party of China wins the Chinese Civil War , establishing the People 's Republic of China . Johnnie Ray signs his first recording contract with Okeh Records , although he would not become popular for another two years . South Pacific , the prize - winning musical , opens on Broadway on April 7 . Walter Winchell is an aggressive radio and newspaper journalist credited with inventing the gossip column . Joe DiMaggio and the New York Yankees go to five World Series in the 1940s , winning four of them .