[Intro]

Message from the Executive Board.
Effective immediately.
Thank you for your continued flexibility.

[Verse]

At eight-oh-five the inbox chimed,
With "Urgent Action" underlined.
The logo shone in navy blue,
The opening thanked us for all we do.

"No cause for panic, no need for fear,
We are protecting the financial year.
A temporary measure, prudent and bold,
Beginning today, all spending is controlled."

The kitchen fell silent from counter to door,
Someone stopped pouring at sentence four.
Mara red twice, then Priya red three,
While People and Culture whispered, "Seriously?"

[Pre-Chorus]

No travel request, no training seat,
No monitor stand, no client retreat.
No role may open, no chair be sold,
The message is simple, efficient and cold.

[Chorus]

The budget has been frozen,
Every little door is closing.
Hold the laptop, stop the hiring,
Cancel every course inspiring.

Every paper clip is questioned,
Every consultant gets extended.

[Verse]

A manager asked for a keyboard replacement,
Finance replied with a six-page statement.
A developer's screen had a violet line,
Procurement said, "Please reconsider next time."

The annual summit became a call,
The safety workshop was cut from the hall.
Two vacant roles disappeared from the chart,
Though both were "essential" at quarter start.

Then Strategy sent an expensive invite:
"Transformation Alignment Workshop Tonight."
Hotel included, external host,
Premium catering billed to the coast.

[Hook]

Freeze the small.
Protect the tall.
Count the cups.
Ignore the wall.

[Chorus]

The budget has been frozen,
Every little door is closing.
Hold the laptop, stop the hiring,
Cancel every course inspiring.

Every sandwich needs approval,
Every vendor wins renewal.

[Instrumental Break]

[Verse]

Nadine stood under the finance-room clock,
Her mechanical counter going click, click, knock.
She knew the memo had missed the cause,
But policy moved with executive force.

"The freeze applies to discretionary spend,"
Said a vice-president trying to defend.
Nadine asked softly, "Define that phrase."
He answered with seventeen slides of haze.

At noon the town hall began with applause,
The C-E-O praised "disciplined pause."
Behind him a banner, twelve metres wide,
Spelled out "Fund the Future, Accelerate the Ride."

[Bridge]

We can save on books, on chairs, on tools and skill,
We can save until no one is left to build.
But ask who signed the contracts up above,
And suddenly saving becomes complicated love.

[Final Chorus]

The budget has been frozen,
Now the contradiction's showing.
You can lock a thousand drawers,
But the largest vault stays open.

Hear the calculator knocking—
Three dry clicks, and the hidden cost starts talking.

[Outro]

Effective immediately, until further notice—
Except where strategically necessary.

The budget has been frozen.

The strategy remains warm.
