[Verse 1]
Back in seventy-two, before the crisis hit
Prices started climbing, bit by bit
Nixon's wage controls couldn't hold the line
Inflation brewing like fermenting wine
The oil shock gets the blame, but that's not quite right
The fires were burning before that October night
[Chorus]
Before the shock, prices were rising
Phillips curve, policymakers sizing
Trade-off thinking, unemployment and inflation
Wage indexation across the nation
Seventy-three broke the regime
Nothing worked like the old-time dream
[Verse 2]
Economists believed in fine-tuning the game
Push unemployment down, inflation's the same
The Phillips curve promised a simple choice
Give us more jobs, we'll pay the price
But the relationship started breaking down
When both problems hit every town
[Chorus]
Before the shock, prices were rising
Phillips curve, policymakers sizing
Trade-off thinking, unemployment and inflation
Wage indexation across the nation
Seventy-three broke the regime
Nothing worked like the old-time dream
[Bridge]
Wage contracts tied to price increases
Once it starts, it never ceases
Workers demanded automatic raises
Inflation spiral through all the phases
What goes up in wages, up in prices
Economic theory paid the crisis
[Verse 3]
Canada followed the American way
Global pressures mounting every day
The old rules crumbled, new ones unclear
Stagflation became the greatest fear
High unemployment, high inflation too
The Phillips curve split right in two
[Final Chorus]
Before the shock, prices were rising
Phillips curve, policymakers sizing
Trade-off thinking proved to be wrong
Wage indexation made it strong
Seventy-three broke the regime
Shattered the old economic dream
[Outro]
Remember this lesson from seventy-three
Simple trade-offs aren't the key
Before you blame the oil crisis alone
The seeds of change had already grown