Fall Out Boy's We Didn't Start the Fire Cover Ripped to Shreds on Twitter: 'An Abomination'

On Wednesday, the rock band dropped their cover of Joel's 1989 hit, in which the Grammy winner lists over 100 cultural and history-making events -- mostly in chronological order -- from 1949 to 1989 to the beat of a catchy tune.

For their cover, Fall Out Boy also referenced a series of various headlines, events, celebrities, and more -- beginning with 1989 through the present. The list featured everything from major historical events -- such as 9/11 and mass school shootings like Sandy Hook and Columbine -- to political headlines -- including Donald Trump's impeachment and Brexit -- to infamous pop culture moments and phenomena, including Twilight, Tiger King, Taylor Swift and Michael Jordan's jersey changes.

However, one global event the band noticeably left out was the COVID-19 pandemic.

After Fall Out Boy -- which consists of Patrick Stump, Pete Wentz, Andy Hurley and Joe Trohman -- released the song, fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts -- and it's safe to say most people weren't feeling the rock band's take on Joel's hit.

"Fall Out Boy's 'We Didn't Start the Fire' does not have bad lyrics. No no no. The choice of words and sequencing therein far transcends that very limiting concept," a person wrote. "This might, in fact, be the very worst combination of words in the history of human language."

"I'm sorry but that Fall Out Boy Billy Joel cover is an abomination," another added.

"The fallout boy We Didn't Start The Fire sucks SO hard that the ice caps started refreezing, war stopped, and global harmony may be possible. We just needed this common enemy," another joked.

A majority of critics appeared to have a problem with the fact that the events listed in the song weren't presented in chronological order like Joel's were, with many arguing that it's "the whole point of the original song."

"Are you telling me Fall Out Boy made an updated We Didn't Start The Fire except they missed the point about the events needing to be chronological and instead they just plugged in whatever rhymed," a user tweeted, adding, "Those f---ing HACKS."

"The Fallout Boy 'We Didn't Start the Fire' isn't in any kind of chronological order which is... the whole point... of the original song?" another said. "It's like... stuff that happened in order. Deep Fakes next to Rodney King doesn't make any sense, dumbasses."

Another person noted that while they're a "big" Fall Out Boy fan, they couldn't wrap their heads around why the band's cover isn't chronological. "Big Fall Out Boy fan here, but for the life of me I don’t understand why their version of 'We Didn't Start the Fire' isn’t chronological. It's just 30+ years of randomly assorted s---," they wrote.

Another part of the song may took issue with was how George Floyd was mentioned -- with his name rhymed with the Nintendo video game, Metroid.

"what do you mean 'fall out boy released a new version of We Didnt Start the Fire where they rhyme 'George Floyd' with "Metroid"' what am i supposed to do with that," a social media user wrote.

See more reactions in the tweets, below.

However, there were some fans who defended Fall Out Boy against the critics, noting that they enjoyed the band's version.

"wtf why are people saying the Fall Out Boy update of 'We Didn't Start The Fire' sucks?!  This s--- unequivocally RULES like gtfo," a person tweeted, while another wrote, "fall out boys cover of 'we didn't start the fire' is actually so very good and anyone that disagrees with that is WRONG."

Meanwhile, Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz opened up about the making of the cover in a new interview with Apple Music 1's Zane Lowe, shedding light on how the band came to certain decisions.

Coincidentally, Wentz addressed what became two criticisms of the cover: the fact that the events aren't listed chronically, and how the pandemic isn't mentioned.

"It's just a little bit out of order, but it is what it is," he said, per Stereogum. "Listen, we wanted the Internet to still have something to complain about."

As for why the band didn't reference COVID, Wentz said, "That’s all anybody talked [about]. It felt like there was a couple of things that felt, like, a little on the nose. And then there were a couple of things where it was like Bush V. Gore, [and] we needed the rhyme."

Ultimately, it seems the bassist doesn't mind if some people don't like the song.

"I think that the beauty of the way that music and art works now is that you put something out there," Wentz said. "If it misses, it kind of just doesn’t go anywhere. And if people like it, then it becomes a thing. But you can put a lot more things kind of out into the ether and it just becomes white noise, if people don't like it."

Check out more tweets below: