When the Golden Standard Fell

hindi jungle, acoustic chicago blues, sertanejo southern rock · 3:57

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Lyrics

[Verse 1]
In nineteen seventy-three, August came
Nixon closed the golden window pane
No more dollars backed by shining gold
A promise that was centuries old
The Bretton Woods system fell apart
Changed the economic beating heart

[Chorus]
When the golden standard fell away
Fiat money came to stay
Floating rates and endless print
Everything changed in that moment's hint
No snap back, no return
New rules we had to learn

[Verse 2]
Before that day, each dollar bill
Was tied to gold upon the hill
Fixed exchange rates, stable ground
Now they float up and down
Central banks got printing power
Changed the game from that very hour

[Chorus]
When the golden standard fell away
Fiat money came to stay
Floating rates and endless print
Everything changed in that moment's hint
No snap back, no return
New rules we had to learn

[Bridge]
Inflation became the hidden tax
Oil crisis, economic cracks
Canada followed the US lead
Global markets felt the need
To adapt to this new world
Where paper money was unfurled

[Verse 3]
Structural shifts that still remain
Deficit spending without pain
Asset bubbles, boom and bust
In central bankers now we trust
The old constraints were swept away
We're living with that choice today

[Chorus]
When the golden standard fell away
Fiat money came to stay
Floating rates and endless print
Everything changed in that moment's hint
No snap back, no return
New rules we had to learn

[Outro]
Seventy-three was the break
From which we never could retake
The golden anchor's stable shore
Those days exist no more

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