The Printer's Curse

Lyrics

[INTRO - Instrumental: 0:00-0:25]

[VERSE 1: 0:25-1:00]
In the tower they're working through the midnight hour,
Conjuring wealth from their ivory tower,
With every bill they print, our savings fade,
Another promise broken, another price we've paid.

My grandfather worked forty years, saved every dime,
Thought his money would hold value across time,
But the dollar he earned in sixty-three,
Is worth five cents now, can't you see?

The printer hums, the press keeps rolling,
While they sit back, wealth controlling,
Creating money from thin air,
Stealing value everywhere.

[CHORUS: 1:00-1:35]
The printer's curse, it steals your time,
Your grandfather's dollar, now worth a dime,
They call it policy, monetary tools,
But theft by any name still breaks the rules.

The printer's curse, a silent thief,
Robbing workers beyond belief,
Inflation's just a gentle word,
For the cruelest tax you've ever heard.

[VERSE 2: 1:35-2:10]
Cantillon knew the game so long ago,
Those close to the printer reap what others sow,
The banker gets it first, buys assets cheap,
The worker gets it last, can barely sleep.

By the time the new money reaches your hand,
Prices have risen across the land,
The purchasing power's already gone,
You're working harder just to carry on.

And they wonder why we can't afford a home,
Why we're working harder, never really own,
The answer's in the money that they made,
From nothing, while our futures slowly fade.

[CHORUS: 2:10-2:45]
The printer's curse, it steals your time,
Your grandfather's dollar, now worth a dime,
They call it policy, monetary tools,
But theft by any name still breaks the rules.

The printer's curse, a silent thief,
Robbing workers beyond belief,
Inflation's just a gentle word,
For the cruelest tax you've ever heard.

[BRIDGE - Instrumental/Spoken Word: 2:45-3:30]
(Music strips down to just piano and bass, very sparse)
(Spoken, almost whispered over the music)
They tell you it's complex, you wouldn't understand,
Economic models, supply and demand,
But the truth is simple, clear as day,
They're stealing value, making you pay.

(Violin enters, building)
Two percent, that's what they claim,
The target rate, part of the game,
But two percent compounds over time,
Halving your savings by design.

(Drums gently entering with brushes)
In seventy years at two percent,
Three-quarters of your value's spent,
And that's if they're honest with the rate,
Reality makes you calculate...

(Full band building back in)
The real inflation's much more,
Housing, food, they keep the score,
Hidden from the CPI,
While the middle class just wonders why...

[VERSE 3: 3:30-3:55]
So we save less and spend today,
Why save when it melts away?
Time preference shifts to short and fast,
When money can't be built to last.

The capital we need to grow,
Evaporates like winter snow,
Civilization needs patient hands,
But the printer's curse destroys those plans.

[FINAL CHORUS - Extended: 3:55-4:15]
The printer's curse, it steals your time,
Your grandfather's dollar, now worth a dime,
They call it policy, monetary tools,
But theft by any name still breaks the rules.

The printer's curse, we've had enough,
Time to call this ancient bluff,
There's a better way, I've heard,
Sound money's more than just a word...

(Trailing off, hopeful note entering)

[OUTRO: 4:15-4:20]
(Silence for 2 seconds before track ends)