[Verse 1] Nineteen seventy-three, the system starts to shake Uncle Sam's got promises he's struggling to make Foreign banks hold dollars, stacking claims sky-high While Fort Knox gold sits finite, watching eagles cry Draw the diagram clear, see the tension build External dollar claims, more than gold can fill Fixed conversion rate, thirty-five per ounce When the math stops working, every banker pounce [Chorus] Racing heart, the pressure's mounting Cracking pact, the gold's not counting Stock and flow, the arrows show When the claims exceed the gold below Racing heart, no time to spare Cracking pact, the cupboard's bare [Verse 2] Picture boxes flowing, dollars streaming in Foreign central banks just waiting to begin Gold reserves stay constant, sitting in their vault While dollar obligations multiply by default One brave nation steps up, tests the guarantee "Give us gold for greenbacks," says the French decree Nixon sweats and stammers, sees the writing clear If one domino tumbles, collapse is what we fear [Chorus] Racing heart, the pressure's mounting Cracking pact, the gold's not counting Stock and flow, the arrows show When the claims exceed the gold below Racing heart, no time to spare Cracking pact, the cupboard's bare [Bridge] Conversion run begins when confidence erodes Everyone's demanding what the system never owed Finite meets infinity, mathematics cruel Bretton Woods is breaking every golden rule [Verse 3] Sunday night decision, close the golden window No more fixed conversion, let the currencies flow Forty years of promise crumbles in a day Racing heart stops beating, pact has cracked away [Outro] Stock was always limited, the flow kept climbing high When the arrows crossed the line, the old system had to die
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