Song: The Austerity Bomb

illustration by Susanna King

People keep talking about the "fiscal cliff," but Brian Beutler at TPM points out that that's not a very accurate metaphor. He coined the term "austerity bomb," and Paul Krugman picked up the term and ran with it. I agree that "austerity bomb" is much more descriptive, so I decided to see if I could write a catchy song to help popularize the phrase.

Quick caveat: I'm not so good at this recording thing, so please consider this a reference for the tune rather than something to listen to for enjoyment. This song is under a Creative Commons attribution non-commercial license, so I hope if you like it you'll record your own (better) version!

The Austerity Bomb song

The Austerity Bomb

Red and blue just can't agree
How to fix the economy
So the standoff doesn't last too long
They went and built the austerity bomb

CHORUS: Who's gonna stop the bomb-ba-bom-bom?
                 Who's gonna stop the bomb-ba-bom-bom?
                 Who's gonna stop the bomb-ba-bom-bom?
                 Who's gonna stop the bomb-ba-bom-bom?

If the bomb goes boom, will it seal our doom?
Hope we don't have to find out soon
Something must be very wrong
If they think they've gotta use the austerity bomb

CHORUS

Speak up now, this is our hour
Make your voice heard by the ones in pow'r
Can't sit still, it's hard to stay calm
Thinking about the austerity bomb

CHORUS

Lyrics with chords (PDF)