[Verse 1]
Back in seventy-three the world came apart
Nixon's dollar deal was losing its heart
Gold standard broken, currencies free
Bretton Woods crumbling, what would we see?
[Chorus]
CPI climbing, prices rise high
Unemployment soaring to the sky
GDP falling while oil costs more
Productivity drops through the floor
Dollar's falling, exchange rates shift
Nineteen seventy-three's the drift
[Verse 2]
Arab oil embargo hit us hard
Gas lines forming in every yard
OPEC pushed prices through the roof
Four times higher, that's the proof
[Chorus]
CPI climbing, prices rise high
Unemployment soaring to the sky
GDP falling while oil costs more
Productivity drops through the floor
Dollar's falling, exchange rates shift
Nineteen seventy-three's the drift
[Bridge]
Real growth negative, recession's grip
Stagflation's on this sinking ship
Core inflation, headline too
Both are rising, nothing new
Deutschmark, yen against the green
Weakest dollar ever seen
[Verse 3]
Workers making less per hour spent
Output falling, money's bent
What we earned bought so much less
Economic regime in distress
[Final Chorus]
CPI climbing, prices rise high
Unemployment soaring to the sky
GDP falling while oil costs more
Productivity drops through the floor
Dollar's falling, exchange rates shift
Seventy-three was the great drift
[Outro]
From that year the rules all changed
Global economy rearranged
Nixon's dollar fell apart
Seventy-three's the breaking start