I know an old lady

rdan

Subprime by Todd Federman

Inspired by “There was an old lady who swallowed a fly”, lyrics by Rose Bonne

No money down, two years interest free,

Buying a house was no problem you see.

And so the young man along with his spouse,

They could not afford, but yet bought the house.

A company provided the debt,

That allowed the couple to buy, but yet

They did not provide the money for free,

They packaged and sold it off for a fee.

And so the young man along with his spouse,

They could not afford, but yet bought the house.

The rating folks called the bonds triple A,

The sun was shining, it was time to make hay.

It allowed the company to sell off the debt,

To earn fast fees, a good business bet.

And so the young man along with his spouse,

They could not afford, but yet bought the house.

The banks came along and bought the debt,

Locked in a spread that yielded great net.

They thought the bonds were Triple A,

Or so the rating companies say,

Of the bonds offered by the company,

The ones packaged and sold for a fee,

That allowed the young man and his spouse,

Though they could not afford, but yet bought the house.

But the terms soon changed for the young man and his spouse,

They could no longer afford to own the new house.

The rating companies had erred quite a bit,

All of a sudden the banks took a hit.

On bonds they had thought risk free,

That they bought from a company that had earned a fee,

For providing the loan to a young man and his spouse,

They could not afford, but yet bought the house.

The Fed came along to bail out the banks,

A task for which they deserve little thanks.

Shouldn’t they have known all along?

Banks chasing yield would end up so wrong?

And couldn’t the rating companies see,

This kind of debt is more like Single B?

And the company that provided the debt for a fee,

Should never have lent to the man and his spouse,

Because they could not afford, but yet bought the house.

Todd Federman

www.RhymesForTurbulentTimes.com