A musical homage to one of the toughest (and tallest) central bankers of all time: legendary inflation fighter Paul Volcker. (Inspired by Jimmy Dean's "Big Bad John") Lyric: Every morning at the Fed he was greeted with dread He stood six foot seven to the top of his head Greenbook in his hand, and cigar in his teeth Everybody knew you didn’t give no grief to Tall Paul (Tall Paul, Tall Paul) Tall Paul Volcker (Tall Paul) Paul seemed to know what to do in a crisis He’d been watchin’ the markets, he knew their devices He didn’t say much—just doodled with a pen And if you spoke at all, you just said “amen” to Tall Paul Somebody said he came from New Jersey He was a Harvard grad—political economy Spent years at Treasury and the New York Fed Helped Nixon put the gold standard to bed (Tall Paul, Tall Paul) Tall Paul Volcker (Tall Paul) Then came a time when inflation was flyin’ The Federal Reserve too much money supplyin’ The Dollar was tanking and gold rose faster And everybody thought that it spelled disaster- ‘cept Paul In the stress and malaise—economic discord Jimmy Carter tapped Paul to head the Fed Board Tight monetary policy was his intent He raised short term interest rates to 18 percent (Tall Paul, Tall Paul) Tall Paul Volcker (Tall Paul) Now as interest rates rose the economy crashed A massive recession—asset values were slashed With high unemployment and firm liquidations One man felt the wrath of the entire nation—Tall Paul But with all of his strength he kept the rates elevated Then the BLS said “the inflation’s abated!” With confidence restored, the interest rates fell The economy entered a big growth spell. (Tall Paul, Tall Paul) Tall Paul Volcker (Tall Paul) Having set the stage for the Great Moderation He retired from the Fed to great acclamation The letters poured in from all over the land: “Thank you Tall Paul for taking a stand” (Tall Paul, Tall Paul) Tall Paul Volcker (Tall Paul) (Tall Paul, Tall Paul) Tall Paul Volcker (Tall Paul)ion