Build a better mousetrap, people said
And the world will beat a path to your door
So, we built a better mousetrap, like they said
And investors beat a path to our door

People bought our mousetrap, happy to choose
Between a cheaper, worser mousetrap
And a dearer, better mousetrap
That everyone was giving rave reviews

Investors were happy, ‘cause they had shares
In our mousetrap firm, but also in theirs
It turns out that moneymen never have to choose
If you have shares in everything, you never lose

But one day they said, those worse mousetraps
You’re gonna have to sell them for more
And the firm that makes the better mousetraps
Will have to make them cheaper than before

Mousetraps soon were all the same price
And none of them were very good at catching mice
But in the boardroom, there was little concern
The investors were getting a better return

Now people often could be heard to say
Mousetraps were so much better in my day
Now a mousetrap doesn’t even do what it says
And everything’s just so expensive nowadays

We told the investors that people were sad
With worse and better mousetraps both
The investors said, well they really should be glad
Because we’ve given them economic growth

Economic growth, they said’s of high import
That’s why it’s always daily in the news
That bit that you ignore just before the sport
It’s the measure that all governments use

Economic growth, that’s all well and good
Economic growth, well that’s nice
But if economic growth is so important
How come it only benefits the mice?