[Verse 1]
Nineteen seventies brought a puzzling sight
Prices rising while jobs took flight
Economists scratched their heads in confusion
Inflation plus unemployment, what's the solution?
The golden age was fading fast
Post-war prosperity couldn't last
[Chorus]
Stagflation nation, prices up, jobs down
Bretton Woods is crumbling, dollar's losing ground
Oil shocks are coming, one-two punch so strong
The economy we knew is singing a different song
Stag-fla-tion, stag-fla-tion
Changing the whole equation
[Verse 2]
Bretton Woods had ruled since forty-four
Dollar tied to gold, exchange rates sure
But Nixon closed the window, seventy-one
The system broke, the damage done
Currencies floating, uncertainty's reign
The stable foundation went down the drain
[Chorus]
Stagflation nation, prices up, jobs down
Bretton Woods is crumbling, dollar's losing ground
Oil shocks are coming, one-two punch so strong
The economy we knew is singing a different song
Stag-fla-tion, stag-fla-tion
Changing the whole equation
[Verse 3]
Seventy-three and seventy-nine
Oil embargo, waiting in line
OPEC squeezed and prices soared
Energy crisis, supply ignored
Industries shifting, rust belt pain
Manufacturing would never be the same
[Bridge]
Then came Volcker with his plan
Raised interest rates across the land
Twenty percent to break inflation's back
But workers' power began to crack
Unions weakened, bargaining declined
Left prosperity far behind
[Chorus]
Stagflation nation, prices up, jobs down
Bretton Woods is crumbling, dollar's losing ground
Oil shocks are coming, one-two punch so strong
The economy we knew is singing a different song
Stag-fla-tion, stag-fla-tion
Changed the whole equation
[Outro]
From broad prosperity to divided gains
The eighties brought us different reins
Remember when the system changed its tune
Stagflation's lessons, we learned too soon