[Verse 1]
They say oil caused all the trouble back in seventy-three
When prices soared and inflation ran free
But that's just part of a bigger scene
More forces at work than what meets the eye
The whole economy was shifting by
Breaking from the rules we'd always seen
[Chorus]
Don't blame it all on one thing alone
Oil shocked but wasn't on its own
Money printing's not the only way
Inflation comes to steal the day
Supply and systems, institutions too
The story's bigger than they're telling you
Nineteen seventy-three changed the game
But simple answers aren't the same
[Verse 2]
The Bretton Woods system fell apart
Dollar's golden anchor lost its heart
Wage and price controls came undone
Labor contracts linked to rising cost
Productivity gains were nearly lost
A regime shift had just begun
[Chorus]
Don't blame it all on one thing alone
Oil shocked but wasn't on its own
Money printing's not the only way
Inflation comes to steal the day
Supply and systems, institutions too
The story's bigger than they're telling you
Nineteen seventy-three changed the game
But simple answers aren't the same
[Bridge]
When supply chains break and shortages grow
When institutions change the way things flow
When expectations start to shift around
Inflation's got more than one way to be found
[Verse 3]
So when you hear that simple story told
About oil prices and money being bold
Remember complexity runs deep
Multiple causes intertwined
Working together to redesign
The economic rules we'd always keep
[Chorus]
Don't blame it all on one thing alone
Oil shocked but wasn't on its own
Money printing's not the only way
Inflation comes to steal the day
Supply and systems, institutions too
The story's bigger than they're telling you
Nineteen seventy-three changed the game
But simple answers aren't the same
[Outro]
The regime break was more than oil
More than money in the soil
Multiple forces came to play
In seventy-three's historic day