[Verse 1]
Nineteen seventy-three was the year things changed
The economic world got rearranged
But first let's clear up what came before
Two myths that people still explore
[Pre-Chorus]
Don't get confused by what you've heard
Let's set the record straight word by word
[Chorus]
Bretton Woods wasn't pure gold standard like the past
It was gold-linked for nations but paper money passed
The fifties sixties weren't laissez-faire and free
Finance and trade were managed carefully
Common confusions we must avoid
Get the facts straight, don't be destroyed
[Verse 2]
From nineteen forty-four to seventy-three
Bretton Woods ruled the currency
Not like eighteen hundreds when gold was king
This was a different kind of thing
[Pre-Chorus]
Central banks could trade their green
For gold at rates fixed and clean
[Chorus]
Bretton Woods wasn't pure gold standard like the past
It was gold-linked for nations but paper money passed
The fifties sixties weren't laissez-faire and free
Finance and trade were managed carefully
Common confusions we must avoid
Get the facts straight, don't be destroyed
[Bridge]
Capital controls were everywhere
Exchange rates fixed with government care
Not the wild west of market force
Regulation set the course
[Verse 3]
So when we talk about the break
In seventy-three for heaven's sake
Remember what came right before
Wasn't chaos at the core
[Final Chorus]
Bretton Woods wasn't pure gold standard like the past
It was gold-linked for nations but paper money passed
The fifties sixties weren't laissez-faire and free
Finance and trade were managed carefully
Common confusions we must avoid
Get the facts straight, don't be destroyed
[Outro]
Nineteen seventy-three changed it all
But know the truth before the fall