[Verse 1]
Nineteen seventy-three arrived with shockwaves underground
OPEC squeezed the pipeline tight, crude prices spiraled round
From three dollars to eleven in a single autumn's breath
Nations watched their economies dance dangerously close to death
[Chorus]
When the world changed gears, inflation soared
Unemployment climbed while growth got floored
The golden age was cracking at the seams
Stagflation crushing post-war dreams
OECD nations felt the sting
As oil became the price of everything
[Verse 2]
Canada's maple leaf was trembling in the economic wind
While America's assembly lines grew quiet and grew thin
Trade volumes stumbled globally as confidence ran dry
The Bretton Woods era's ghost was saying its goodbye
[Chorus]
When the world changed gears, inflation soared
Unemployment climbed while growth got floored
The golden age was cracking at the seams
Stagflation crushing post-war dreams
OECD nations felt the sting
As oil became the price of everything
[Bridge]
Developing nations borrowed heavy, debt began to grow
External balances tilted as the petrodollars flowed
Current accounts hemorrhaging, reserves were running thin
A new regime was dawning as the old one caved within
[Verse 3]
Phillips curve mythology lay shattered on the ground
High prices, high unemployment - both together found
The rulebook torn to pieces, economists confused
The comfortable equations of the past were now refused
[Final Chorus]
When the world changed gears, everything transformed
Old assumptions died as new crises swarmed
The golden age was buried in the dust
As nations learned that growth was not a must
OECD wisdom needed renovation
Welcome to the age of stagflation
[Outro]
Seventy-three's the year the old world died
Economic certainty was pushed aside