I remember when the Dollar floated free
+
Half the Country held its breath
+
I remember when the rules all changed
+
And the Country tasted death
+
I remember when the dollar floated free
+
And half the Country held its breaths
+
When the headlines talked of crisis
+
And the radio warned of debts
+
Eighteen percent on mortgages, mate
+
You could feel the strain that bent
+
And the factories on the outskirts
+
Learned what global pressure really meant
+
We watched the welders pack their toolkits
+
Watched the foremen lock the gates
+
Watched the neon signs go dimmer
+
As the future changed its shapes
+
They told us it was necessary
+
That the pain would make us stronger
+
That the J-curve would rebound
+
If we just held on a little longer
+
But the curve bent sideways, twisted down
+
Like water swirling out of sight
+
And the S-bend years began
+
Quiet days and sleepless nights
+
We watched the local Butcher close
+
The Bakery turn to dust
+
The Shoe Repair and Hardware Store
+
Gone in a single gust
+
Mums and Dads who worked the line
+
Now lining up for the dole
+
And the kids who used to play out back
+
Had nowhere left to go
+
The promise was prosperity
+
The price was paid in tears
+
And the S-bend kept on turning
+
Through the long and lonely years
+
We held our breath through every change
+
Hoping something would rearrange
+
But the centre slipped beneath our feet
+
And silence settled in the street
+
We rode the J-curve down the pipes
+
Through the S-bend years of loss and frights
+
Through shuttered shops and empty yards
+
Through long slow Friday nights
+
We were told to swim or sink
+
Tighten belts and never blink
+
Carry all our own hard times
+
With no lifeguard on the brink
+
And I still hear those echoes
+
In the hum of modern fears
+
We're living in the long shadow
+
Of the S-bend years
+
Tariffs fell like autumn leaves
+
And the imports rolled right in
+
Cheaper shirts and cheaper fridges
+
Bargains with a hidden sting
+
We didn't see the long-term cost
+
Just the savings boldly stickered
+
Till the last machine shop shuttered
+
And the union flags just flickered
+
The old men at the pub would mutter
+
"This was coming all along"
+
But the young ones packed their bags
+
And left for cities far and gone
+
We were told it made us modern
+
That the market sorts the weak
+
But the strong were overseas
+
And the future felt antique
+
The towns that once rang with hammers
+
Now echo with regret
+
And the kids who grew up in the shadow
+
Never quite forget
+
The promise of the open market
+
Turned to rust and broken dreams
+
And the S-bend kept on turning
+
Through the years of silent screams
+
And the J-curve never lifted
+
It just circled, dipped, and veered
+
And the S-bend years kept flowing
+
Year by year
+
We learned to live with shifting ground
+
With every loss a different sound
+
The centre strained beneath the load
+
A quiet ache the Country owed
+
We rode the J-curve down the pipes
+
Through the S-bend years of loss and frights
+
Through shuttered shops and empty yards
+
Through long slow Friday nights
+
We were told to swim or sink
+
Tighten belts and never blink
+
Carry all our own hard times
+
With no lifeguard on the brink
+
And I still hear those echoes
+
In the hum of modern fears
+
We're living in the long shadow
+
Of those S-bend years
+
We rode the J-curve down the pipe
+
Through the S-bend years of loss and frights
+
Through shuttered shops and empty yards
+
Through long slow Friday nights
+
We were told to swim or sink
+
Tighten belts and never blink
+
Carry all our own hard times
+
With no lifeguard on the brink
+
And I still hear those echoes
+
In the hum of modern fears
+
We're living in the long shadow
+
Of the S-bend years
+
Living in the long shadow
+
(Living in the long shadow...)
+
Living in the long shadow
+
(Living in the long shadow...)
+
Of the S-bend years
+
We rode the J-curve down the pipes
+
Through the S-bend years of loss and frights
+
Through shuttered shops and empty yards
+
Through long slow Friday nights
+
We were told to swim or sink
+
Tighten belts and never blink
+
Carry all our own hard times
+
With no lifeguard on the brink
+
And I still hear those echoes
+
In the hum of modern fears
+
We're living in the long shadow
+
Of the S-bend years
+
Now every storm brings Press Releases
+
Every crisis brings plans
+
And the same old towns that carried the pain
+
Now look for helping hands
+
Somewhere between the sink-or-swim
+
And the bailouts laced with fear
+
Is the balance we keep losing
+
Year by year
+
We've lived through both extremes, mate
+
The droughts AND the floods
+
The "stand on your own two feet"
+
And the "government should" duds
+
And somewhere in the middle
+
Is the truth that disappears
+
We're still learning from the lessons
+
Of the S-bend years
+
Still carrying the weight
+
Of what we lost and what we fear
+
Still wondering if the centre
+
Will ever reappear
+
We rode the J-curve down the pipes
+
Through the S-bend years of loss and frights
+
Through shuttered shops and empty yards
+
Through long slow Friday nights
+
We were told to swim or sink
+
Tighten belts and never blink
+
Carry all our own hard times
+
With no lifeguard on the brink
+
And I still hear those echoes
+
In the hum of modern fears
+
We're living in the long shadow
+
Of the S-bend years
+
Still carrying the weight
+
Of what we lost and what we fear
+
Still wondering if the centre
+
Will ever reappear
+
We rode the J-curve down the pipes
+
Through the S-bend years of loss and frights
+
Through shuttered shops and empty yards
+
Through long slow Friday nights
+
We were told to swim or sink
+
Tighten belts and never blink
+
Carry all our own hard times
+
With no lifeguard on the brink
+
And I still hear those echoes
+
In the hum of modern fears
+
We're living in the long shadow
+
Of the S-bend years
+
(Living in the long shadow...)
+
Living in the long shadow
+
(Living in the long shadow...)
+
(Living in the long shadow...)
+
Of the S-bend years
+
We rode the J-curve down the pipes
+
Through the S-bend years of loss and frights
+
Through shuttered shops and empty yards
+
Through long slow Friday nights
+
We were told to swim or sink
+
Tighten belts and never blink
+
Carry all our own hard times
+
With no lifeguard on the brink
+
And I still hear those echoes
+
In the hum of modern fears
+
We're living in the long shadow
+
Of the S-bend years
+
I'm not angry, just remembering
+
The way the country steers
+
Still drifting through the echoes
+
Of the S-bend years
+
(S-bend years...)
+
(S-bend years...)
+
Living in the long shadow
+
Of the S-bend years
+
