[Verse 1]
Nineteen thirty-two, Neville counts the loan,
Two billion pounds of five percent, a mountain made of stone,
Quarter of the debt of Britain wrapped in one war bond,
He asks the nation kindly, waves the patriot wand.
"Convert for king and country," cheap money is the tune,
Three and a half replaces five, the creditors swoon,
No gunpoint, just a letter and a splendid press campaign,
Persuasion dressed as duty — that's how Chamberlain refrains.
[Chorus]
Конверсія, конверсія, ставка йде вниз,
П'ять стає три з половиною, тихий компроміз,
A promise can be reworded when the state decides the key,
Слово держави — не назавжди, listen and you'll see.
[Verse 2]
Cross the ocean, June of thirty-three,
Congress waves a resolution, strikes the clause that guaranteed
Every bond repaid in gold, dollar-for-dollar true,
"Against public policy," they say, and poof — the promise flew.
Contracts signed in golden ink now settle in mere paper,
A legerdemain performed in daylight, no need for a caper,
The sleight of hand is legal when the printing press agrees,
Debtors breathe, and creditors are left upon their knees.
[Verse 3]
Thirty-four, the Gold Reserve Act seals the magic trick,
Twenty dollars sixty-seven climbs to thirty-five so quick,
The dollar's weighed in lighter gold, devaluation's name,
Washington's own version of the conversion game.
Chamberlain cut coupons, Roosevelt cut the scale,
Both are creditworthy states just rigging different gale,
Not a default, not a crisis — just the numbers rearranged,
Fiscal history's lesson: the rules can be exchanged.
[Chorus]
Конверсія, конверсія, ставка йде вниз,
П'ять стає три з половиною, тихий компроміз,
A promise can be reworded when the state decides the key,
Слово держави — не назавжди, listen and you'll see.
[Bridge]
Perry versus United States, nineteen thirty-five,
The Court declares abrogation wrong — the gold clause was alive!
Unconstitutional, they thunder from the bench so grand,
Then hand the plaintiff nothing, not one coin, not one strand,
Пірова перемога — a victory that costs you all you win,
Right without a remedy is just a paper twin.
[Verse 4]
Fast forward to the modern age, Argentina twice defaults,
Greece restructures bondholders, haircuts dressed in waltz,
Collective action clauses now replace the gentleman's word,
Majority can bind the rest — dissent is left unheard.
The sovereign writes the contract, and the sovereign holds the pen,
History keeps rhyming with the same old verse again,
From Westminster to Wall Street to the Aegean shore,
The state revises promises, and calls it something more.
[Outro]
From Pelham's scissors to this gilded sleight of hand,
Creditworthy nations learn to bend without the brand,
Conversion, abrogation, bridges built in legal clay,
Слово держави змінюється — but the debt still finds a way.