[Verse 1] Back in seventy-three the pipelines ran dry OPEC turned the valves and watched the black gold fly Crude oil quadrupled overnight they say Put the whole world's economy in disarray Factories shutting down from coast to coast The energy we needed disappeared like a ghost [Chorus] It's the supply shock blues, when the oil stops flowing Prices climbing high while the output keeps slowing Policy makers trapped between the hammer and the stone Fight inflation or jobs, can't save them both alone Supply shock blues, negative and mean Shrinks what we can make while costs careen [Verse 2] Assembly lines grinding to a crawling pace Transportation costs putting strain on every place What the nation could produce began to fall While grocery bills and heating left wallets small The cruel mathematics of scarcity's grip When inputs disappear the whole machine will slip [Chorus] It's the supply shock blues, when the oil stops flowing Prices climbing high while the output keeps slowing Policy makers trapped between the hammer and the stone Fight inflation or jobs, can't save them both alone Supply shock blues, negative and mean Shrinks what we can make while costs careen [Bridge] Tighten up the money, unemployment grows Loosen up the purse strings, inflation explodes No magic bullet for this economic curse Every remedy seems to make it worse The Federal Reserve caught in no man's land Stagflation's grip across the troubled land [Verse 3] Canada felt the tremor, global markets shook Every nation scrambling, rewriting the book The post-war boom was over, new rules took hold A regime break dividing new economy from old Energy dependence showed its heavy price When foreign powers rolled the loaded dice [Chorus] It's the supply shock blues, when the oil stops flowing Prices climbing high while the output keeps slowing Policy makers trapped between the hammer and the stone Fight inflation or jobs, can't save them both alone Supply shock blues, negative and mean Shrinks what we can make while costs careen [Outro] Remember seventy-three when the lesson was learned How quickly prosperity tables can be turned Supply shock blues, they changed everything The economic rules and the songs we sing
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