Do It Yourself
Bill Sutton Lyrics

I went to buy computers, and they said a million bucks
The singer went computer shopping but was told by salespeople that the only option was a mainframe IBM that cost too much.

For a brand new mainframe IBM, now that price really sucks
The singer expresses their frustration with the high cost of buying a mainframe IBM.

So I looked at all the pictures, and I chose to build my own,
The singer decided to build their own computer after looking at pictures of mainframe computers.

For you can build a mainframe from the things you find at home
The artist believes it's possible to build a mainframe by using materials found at home.

Oh, IBM, DEC, and Honeywell; HP, DG and Wang,
The artist names several big computer companies.

Amdahl, NEC, and NCR, they don't know anything
The singer accuses these companies of not knowing that it's possible to build a mainframe using materials found at home.

They make big bucks for systems, so they never want it known
The singer believes that these companies make a lot of money selling their computer systems and don't want people to know that it's possible to build a mainframe for a fraction of the cost.

Now, take the CPU, you see it's only just a box
The artist describes the CPU (Central Processing Unit) as a simple box with blinking lights and cable slots.

With blinking lights and whirring fans and lots of cable slots.
The artist further describes the components of a CPU: lights, fans, and cable slots.

So I spent an evening working with some wire and bulbs and pins,
The artist spent an evening working with wire, bulbs, and pins to build their own CPU.

Then I hauled it to the basement and I plugged the freezer in
The singer plugged the CPU into the basement and used a freezer to keep it cool.

Well, next I needed tape drives, my tape drives were a steal
The artist needed tape drives for their computer and was able to find them for a cheap price.

I climbed into the attic for my dad's old reel-to-reel
The singer found the tape drives in their dad's old reel-to-reel player in the attic.

Some cable and some binder twine, and soon it was complete:
The singer used cable and binder twine to complete the tape drives.

My CPU and tape drive at a price no one can beat
The singer was able to build their CPU and tape drives for a much cheaper price than buying them from a big computer company.

So then I looked for disk drives, but it didn't take me long
The artist quickly found what they needed for their computer: disk drives.

Function follows form, they say, or have I got that wrong?
The artist questions the saying 'function follows form' and whether or not it's accurate.

I found a drive with five new modes that blows the rest away:
The singer found a disk drive with five new modes that impressed them more than other disk drives.

Cottons, linens, wash and wear, rinse, and lingerie!
The disk drive has modes for washing different types of clothing: cottons, linens, wash and wear, rinse, and lingerie.

Well, I had to have a console just to make my system run
The artist needed a console for their computer to run.

Without a fancy console then my system wasn't done
The artist believed that their computer wouldn't be complete without a console.

So, I tied a ten-buck typer to a broken TV tube,
The artist used a cheap typewriter and a broken TV tube to create their own console.

And now I've got a console that can write the evening news
The singer is proud of their DIY console that is capable of writing news stories.

I've had my system running - I'll admit it's not the best
The artist has been able to get their computer system running, but they acknowledge that it's not perfect.

The data isn't right, and the response time is a mess
The singer is experiencing issues with the data and response time of their computer system.

It crashes every hour, and it isn't worth a damn,
The singer's computer system crashes frequently and isn't worth much.

But I'm satisfied because it runs just like an IBM!
Despite the issues with their computer system, the singer is satisfied because it runs like a sophisticated IBM system.

Yes, you can build a mainframe from the things you find at home
The artist reaffirms the idea that it's possible to build a mainframe computer using materials found at home.