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Engine Roll Call

Revision as of 16:09, 2 August 2020 by TheIsraeliSudrian (Message Wall | contribs) (→‎In Other Languages: My unofficial translation (there is no real one)')
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This article is about the song. You may be looking for the book.

The Engine Roll Call, or simply Roll Call, is a song based around the Steam Team and featured at the end of every episode from the eighth series to the twenty-first series. An instrumental version of the chorus was used for the credits since the eighth season and for the opening from the eighth to the tenth. In the eleventh series the instrumental was replaced with the chorus for the opening. Terry Tompkins and Steve D'Angelo re-arranged the theme for the nineteenth to twenty-first series. Imaginigami composed the twenty-second series onwards version, which was now only featured at the end of certain episodes taking place on Sodor.

The lyrics have been changed three times; once for Calling All Engines!, once for The Great Discovery, and once for the twenty-second series. There is also an alternate rock 'n' roll version.

Lyrics

Series 8-21 version

(chorus)

They're two, they're four, they're six, they're eight,
Shunting trucks and hauling freight,
Red and green and brown and blue,
They're the Really Useful crew.
All with different roles to play
'round Tidmouth Sheds or far away,
Down the hills and round the bends,
Thomas and his friends.
Thomas, he's the cheeky one,
James is vain but lots of fun.
Percy pulls the mail on time,
Gordon thunders down the line.
Emily really knows her stuff,
Henry toots and huffs and puffs.
Edward wants to help and share,
Toby, well, let's say, he's square.

(chorus x2)

Calling All Engines version

(chorus)

All the engines are on hand,
Waiting for a plane to land.
Be they diesels, be they steam,
All keep working as a team.
Emily will now go to bed
With all the rest at Tidmouth Sheds.
And no one can remember when
Steamies worked with Diesel Ten!

(chorus)

A Day at the Races version

(chorus)

James is vain but never bad,
Thomas, he's the cheeky lad.
Percy pulls the mail on time,
Gordon thunders down the line.
Emily really knows her stuff,
Henry toots and huffs and puffs.
Edward wants to help and share,
Toby, well, let's say, he's square.

(chorus x2)

Rock 'n' Roll version

(chorus)

They're two, they're four, they're six, they're eight,
Shunting trucks and hauling freight.
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Red and green and brown and blue,
They're the Really Useful crew.
Down the hills and round the bends,
Thomas and his friends.
Thomas, he's the cheeky one,
James is vain but lots of fun.
Percy pulls the mail on time,
Emily knows her stuff.
Henry toots and huffs and puffs.
Gordon thunders down the line.
Edward wants to help and share,
Toby, well, let's say, he's square.
They're two, they're four, they're six, they're eight,
Shunting trucks and hauling freight.
Down the hills and round the bends,
Oh, hey, hey.
Thomas and his friends.

The Great Discovery version

(chorus)

Thomas, he's the cheeky one,
James is vain but lots of fun.
Percy pulls the mail on time,
Gordon thunders down the line.
Emily really knows her stuff,
Henry toots and Edward puffs.
Stanley, he's the new one there,
Toby, well, let's say, he's square.

(chorus)

Thomas Saves the Day (Live Show) version

They're two, they're four, they're six, they're eight,
Shunting trucks and hauling freight.
Red and green and brown and blue,
They're the Really Useful crew.
All with different roles to play
'Round Tidmouth Sheds or far away,
Down the hills and round the bends,
Thomas and his friends.
Thomas, he's the cheeky one,
But he always gets things done.
Diesel, he is strong and tough.
Diesel: And I really know my stuff.
Percy pulls the mail on time,
Thomas: And he's a friend of mine.
The engines learned to help and share.
When there's a job, they're always there.
The engines have been working late,
Shunting trucks and hauling freight.
Sir Topham Hatt and Lady: The festival was almost through,
But save by this Really Useful crew.
The engines all have roles to play,
'Round Tidmouth Sheds or far away,
Down the hills and round the bends,
Thomas and his friends.
Thomas and his friends.
Thomas' Driver: We'll take this diamond to the lighthouse right now.

Series 22 version

(chorus)

They're two, they're four, they're six, they're eight,
Shunting trucks and hauling freight,
Yellow, and green, red, orange and blue,
They're the Really Useful crew.
All with different roles to play
'round Tidmouth Sheds or far away,
Down the hills and round the bends,
Thomas and his friends.
Thomas, he's the cheeky one,
Rebecca, she's new and lots of fun.
Percy pulls the mail on time,
Gordon thunders down the line.
Emily really knows her stuff,
James is always showing off,
Nia wants to help and share,
Toby, well, let's say, he's square.

(chorus x2)

Characters

Series 8 -10 version

Calling All Engines! version

Rock 'n' Roll version

Series 11 version

The Great Discovery version

Series 13 version

Series 14 version

Series 19 version (Opening Credits)

Series 19 version

Series 22 version

Locations

Series 8 version

Calling All Engines! version

Rock 'n' Roll version

Series 11 version

The Great Discovery version

Series 13 version

Series 14 version

Series 19 version (Opening Credits)

Series 19 version

Series 22 version

Footage Used

Series 8 version

Rock 'n' Roll version

Series 11 version

The Great Discovery version

  • What's the Matter with Henry? (Recreated Scene)
  • Gordon and Spencer (Recreated Scene)
  • Percy's Big Mistake (Recreated Scene)
  • Squeak, Rattle and Roll (Recreated Scene)
  • Emily's Rubbish
  • Dirty Work
  • Gordon and the Engineer
  • Thomas and the Lighthouse
  • Smoke and Mirrors
  • Edward and the Mail
  • Toby's Triumph
  • Thomas in Trouble
  • Thomas and the Stinky Cheese
  • Percy and the Left Luggage
  • The Great Discovery

Series 12 version

  • What's the Matter with Henry? (Recreated Scene)
  • Gordon and Spencer (Recreated Scene)
  • Percy's Big Mistake (Recreated Scene)
  • Squeak, Rattle and Roll (Recreated Scene)
  • Emily's Rubbish
  • Dirty Work
  • Toby's Triumph
  • Thomas in Trouble
  • Thomas and the Stinky Cheese
  • Percy and the Left Luggage
  • Steady Eddie

Series 13 version

Series 14 version

Series 19 version (Opening Credits)

Series 19 version

Series 22 version

Deleted and Extended Scenes

  • What's the Matter with Henry? - An alternate angle shot of Henry going under a pipe.
  • Gordon and Spencer - An extended shot of Gordon on his hill.
  • Thomas to the Rescue - A deleted scene of Thomas rolling his eyes at Tidmouth Sheds.
  • You Can Do it, Toby! - A deleted scene of Toby and Henrietta passing Black Loch.

Trivia

  • The song's music video has been redone five times; once for the eleventh series in high definition, then for the twelfth series with CGI faces on the models, again for the thirteenth series using full CGI, with a minor change for the fourteenth series, one to accompany the re-arranged theme for the nineteenth series and new changes in lyrics for the twenty-second series onwards.
  • Series 12's version is the only song released in said series.
  • Series 22's version marks the first time the lyrics have been completely changed, in order to accommodate Nia and Rebecca in place of Edward and Henry:
    • "Red and green and brown and blue" is changed to "Yellow, and green, red, orange and blue".
    • The new order is: Thomas, Rebecca, Percy, Gordon, Emily, James, Nia and Toby.
    • James is now in place of Henry, with the new line "James is always showing off".
    • Edward's old line is reused, but changed to Nia instead.
    • Rebecca uses a slightly altered version of James' original line, replacing "is vain" with "she's new".
    • Toby was kept in the line-up to retain 8 lines, despite the fact that he has been removed from the Steam Team.
  • When the eleventh series was shown in full-screen on Nick Jr. in the UK and on PBS Kids in the US, during the line "Thomas, he’s the cheeky one", the shot of Thomas rushing through the yards in the background is mirrored. This is corrected on the twelfth series version on full-screen.
  • The lyrics of the song has been incorporated into the theme tune on Series 11.
  • When the 8th series aired on CiTV, the Engine Roll Call was not featured before the end credits.
  • In All Aboard with the Steam Team, Steamies vs Diesels and other DVDs and TV airings with Series 9 and 10 episodes, there are yellow linings when they show the engines and in DVDs and TV airings with Series 8 episodes and The Great Discovery, there are no yellow linings.
  • On the DVD, Railway Friends, the song is distorted.
  • Specially shot footage was used for the twelfth series version.
  • In Norway, the song was never dubbed into Norwegian for the series until the thirteenth series. A dubbed version was used for Calling All Engines! and The Great Discovery however.
  • In King of the Railway, the Sodor Brass Band are heard playing the song when Sir Robert Norramby arrives at Knapford and again later at the opening of Ulfstead Castle. Stephen is also heard humming the song while he is on the Main Line. The Brass Band also plays this song in Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure and in Bubbling Boilers.
  • In Bubbling Boilers, the bouncing cloud is replaced by a bubble.
  • A marching band version of the song is used as the intro theme for Hero of the Rails.
  • In the Serbian version, the music is high pitched of the first chorus, instead of the second chorus. The second chorus had the opening.
  • Some airings of Series 22 episodes feature Henry when the final "green" is said while others feature Samson.
  • In the Russian version of Calling All Engines!, it plays the instrumental version.
  • The Japanese version of the Series 22-onwards Roll Call contains a few differences to the original:
    • A new instrumental - more closely resembling the original - is used.
    • The test footage of Nia shown during her line is replaced by footage from the episode Counting on Nia.
    • The short instrumental snippet inbetween the penultimate and final verses is removed; as a result, the corresponding footage is also not present and the transition between the two verses is different.

Goofs

  • In the eighth through tenth series version, a close-up of Emily's wheels from the eighth series episode Thomas, Emily and the Snowplough is reversed.
  • In the German and Swedish versions of the Great Discovery version, it shows and says Edward's name when it shows Stanley.
  • In the Polish version, the colours that are said are not the ones shown on screen. This is fixed in the Great Discovery version.
  • In the Norwegian version, it is said that Edward is "new in town". This is due to the fact that it was changed from The Great Discovery version where it initially described Stanley.
  • In the first known Hebrew version, it was said that James is "usually annoyed".
  • In the European Spanish version, it is said that there are ten members of the Steam Team, which is false.
  • In the second Hebrew and Lithuanian version, the Steam Team is said to have only six members, rather than eight.
  • In the Lithuanian version, the colour is black, which is false.
  • In the extended version of the eleventh series version, one scene of Percy is reversed as smoke can be seen going back into his funnel.
  • In the extended version of the nineteenth series version, the sound effect for Henry's whistle is out of place. The sound is also still intact in the twenty-second series version.

In Other Languages

Language Title
Czech Vagónky posunují (Series 13)
Mají až osm dvojkolí (Series 17)
Jsou dva a tři a ještě víc (Series 18)
Lokomotiv osmička (Series 22)
Finnish On Vetureita Kahdeksan
German Lokomotiven-Appell
Hungarian Mozdonyok
Japanese きかんしゃトーマスのテーマ2
Polish Przyjaciół Przedstawiamy Wam!
Portuguese Tema de abertura
Russian Локомотивная перекличка
Spanish La Ronda de Nombres

CDs

Music Videos

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