[Verse 1] Back in '73, the world was humming smooth Golden age machinery in its familiar groove Then October came with thunder from the East Oil embargo struck like lightning, prices tripled at least Nations that had sipped crude from distant wells Found their wallets emptied by Arabian spells [Chorus] When the golden age shattered, import bills went sky-high Petrodollars floating, recycling through the sky Banks were swimming in oil money, lending left and right Setting up tomorrow's crisis in broad daylight Import bills and petrodollars, that's the deadly pair Debt stress brewing in the system, poison in the air [Verse 2] Countries used to buying oil for pocket change Suddenly discovered their budgets rearranged Every barrel cost four times what it did before Balance sheets were bleeding red from shore to shore Meanwhile oil producers counted mountains of green Richest cash flow transfer that the world had seen [Chorus] When the golden age shattered, import bills went sky-high Petrodollars floating, recycling through the sky Banks were swimming in oil money, lending left and right Setting up tomorrow's crisis in broad daylight Import bills and petrodollars, that's the deadly pair Debt stress brewing in the system, poison in the air [Bridge] Petrodollar recycling sounds so clean and neat But easy money lending sets the trap complete When oil wealth gets funneled through the banking maze It plants the seeds for debt's destructive blaze [Verse 3] Global finance welcomed all that surplus cash Eager banks were pushing loans without a dash Of caution for the borrowers who'd pay the price When interest rates would later roll the dice The stage was set for decades of financial pain Born from oil shocks and petrodollar rain [Chorus] When the golden age shattered, import bills went sky-high Petrodollars floating, recycling through the sky Banks were swimming in oil money, lending left and right Setting up tomorrow's crisis in broad daylight Import bills and petrodollars, that's the deadly pair Debt stress brewing in the system, poison in the air [Outro] Seventy-three, the year the golden age died Petrodollar recycling, debt stress amplified
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