I'm a journyman technician in an automotive shop.

I'm supposed to know the answers

From the bottom to the top.

I should diagnose the problem With just a single look.

And if I fail to fix it You think that I'm a crook.

When I charge you for my labour You bitch and scream and moan.

And even call and threaten me upon the telephone.

But technology in the auto Is advancing every year.

And for the systems I must know I simply have no peer.

I must be more electrician. Than the man who wires your home.

For the wiring system in your car Outstrips the Astrodome.

Them refrigeration systems That I'm supposed to know.

Have far more gadgets than your home.

To make the darn thing go. Electronics now have made the scene

And more are coming yet. Some models now will far exceed Your television set.

In hydraulics I have more to learn.

Than a specialist in pumps There's brakes and shock absorbers.

To help absorb the bumps. Torque converters and transmissions.

With servos, valves and gears with models by the hundreds. Introduced in recent years.

Fuel systems of a hundred kinds I must adjust and meter.

Each far more complicated Than your furnace or water heater.

The principles of combustion I must know from A to Z.

And gear trains that will far exceed Most all machinery.

I'm in welding, I'm in plumbing For water, vacuum, oil and fuel.

Compared to me a plumber Is a kid in grammer school.

There's alignment and there's balancing.

And God alone knows what If I fix it, that's expected

If I don't, I'm on the spot

There's models, makes and systems

Some seven hundred strong.

And new ones coming up each year To help the scheme along.

Now compare me to the Doctor Whose prices make mine meagre.

Yet folks revere his expertise Ever more impressed and eager.

The human body hasn't changed In twenty thousand years.

And every model works the same From the ankles to the ears.

There's years of school to learn his field And almost none in mine.

I've learned by practising my trade And I read what I can find.

There's new equipment and techniques And medicines for sure.

But this is true in my field too As much or even more.

There's lots of books he has to read His procedures to define.

But for every page in his field There's twenty - five in mine

There's no comebacks and no warranty You pay for what you get.

And then come back and pay again If he hasn't fixed it yet.

His mistakes are often buried While mine come back for free.

And he plays golf on Wednesday While my customers hassle me.

We spend millions of tax dollars Sending kids to medical school.

But if you ask for some in my field. You're treated like a fool.

Everybody has one body But not one has more.

But when it comes to autos. You may have three or four.

But you'll go right on complaining Of the way I run my show.

With no appreciation For the things I have to know.

And you'll take you high school drop - outs. And you'llshove them off to us.

And expect them to be experts While you rant and rave and fuss.

And when your car cannot be serviced I'll not hang my head in shame.

So you'd best wake up America And find out who's to blame.