Though part of the plot revolves around the idea that the only way to get the lyrics to a song back in the '80s was to listen to it over and over again, many albums came with lyric sheets. Billy Joel's 1989 album Storm Front, containing We Didn't Start the Fire, was one of those albums, so the lyrics were available to anyone with the tape, CD, or LP of the album, and in fact, for that song, the lyrics were even listed by historical year.