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This video gave me one of those "wait, how did we get here?" moments. I'm listening to a jazz pianist talk about how great the TTTE theme is, and now we're breaking it down in highly-trained, well-experienced, grown-up musician terms, and we're serious about it. This is what the internet is really for.
Well the best artists tend to be well rounded, and being well rounded tends to make a more kind and understanding person. Memes are a silly part of the warmth and empathy connecting people across time and space.
Whenever I think about stuff like this I tend to think about how the folks behind the composition/arranging were trained professionals - so they knew how to use all these techniques and ideas, even if it was all for a kids show. That said, this theme is epic. The sounds chosen are super kid friendly and charming, but the harmony is wild
The whole thing is very ragtime-indebted. There's a line in Scott Joplin's 'Maple Leaf Rag' that sounds so similar to part of the Thomas theme that I'm convinced that it was an intentional nod on the Thomas composers' part.
@@metalnut92 I've noticed this line as well, and I'm sure we're thinking of the same part. I know at least one other character theme in the show borrows heavily from an old big band tune (I forget which one at the moment), so I wouldn't be surprised if they intentionally "quoted" various musical lines from classic tunes.
I have thought this for decades and never seen anyone reference it. Absolutely, it’s the final section of the Maple Leaf Rag which feels exactly like TTTE. I can see it’s in A flat but no idea why it’s such a strong link.
I still unironically enjoy watching the classic Thomas series. Even though I’m a bit too old to be gripped by the stories anymore (not to mention I’ve seen and read them a dozen times already), the gorgeous visuals and incredible music are so intoxicating. Britt Alcroft and the Rev. W. Audry didn’t just make my childhood, they made my whole life 😂❤️
@@AdrienMelody If you like the classic Thomas series, wait until you watch Mitton’s passion project TUGS. It really helped with making Thomas better from Season 3 onward.
and how about when the music is coming back to main, Thomas is also coming towards the camera and then kinda loops back to the beginning of video/music
The video isn't the actually the intro video. It's that, but extended to fit the full length arrangement of the theme with a lot of clips added in between. The first 2 clips and the last clip are all that you have in the actual intro.
I read an interview with the composer of the Postman Pat theme once (which is a deceptively tricky piece to play) and he said how you should never patronise young children with lazy writing, as they have a far greater appreciation for complexity in music than many people realise.
honestly, when they switched up thomas i couldnt watch it as a kid anymore. it just felt annoying. going back now i realise that the old show is just as good as i remember and it really did get worse. i didnt grow up. they pander to kids and it isnt as interesting to watch
It’s why a lot of the music from the first 5-6 years of power rangers is really good because it never really pandered to children there were great music that if it wasn’t tied to kids show would be loved I think
My mom once had a job playing piano in a hotel restaurant… I think if you rearranged the rhythm a little you could easily slip a piano version of this into the set list without most people noticing.
This just proves the pure composing genius of Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell, not to mention Britt Allcroft's insistance of not dumbing down the music to kids so that everyone of all ages can enjoy it
I'm from the 80s grew up watching Thomas. That's why our generation seems to be more prepared for the real world because we handled whatever we encountered...
With all the moving around chords, keys, and harmonies, I wonder if it's the musical equivalent of traveling on a train. It goes everywhere and you're seeing all sorts of locations. You're there for a destination, but you're also in it for the journey. It's like a smooth train ride. And it ending at a different major than the beginning means you're at the station. Kinda like Thomas!
i think it's more that mediant modulations feel very large and loud also I'm surprised he didn't mention how the diminished chord gives it a ragtime feel 9:40 which is interesting since ragtime often has railroad themes
Yes, even just sticking to kids' programmes, One of the best has to be Robinson Crusoe. I believe that though it was a French production, the BBC commisioned a fresh score for the English dubbed version. But it's not just the main theme that's so good, there are several equally memorable incidental themes.
If you think about it, that actually tracks as an analogy for the show and Thomas himself. You end in a different place then you started; a lot changes on the way, but in the end it all went smoothly.
Yeah. Every train had a soundtrack to contextualise their individual characters. James, Gordon and Percy all had their own accompanying musical score that complimented their distinctly diverse personalities
You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for a video on this. My whole dang life. I wouldn’t be a musician or writer today if it wasn’t for the music of Thomas.
It's fun to watch someone who actually understands the technical aspects of music discuss a song I can only describe as 'neat', and explain that, basically, I'm right.
That last bit that starts at 1:40 always gave me shivers. Me and my brother were sooo angry when they introduced the “They’re 2, they’re 4, they’re 6 they’re 8,” song and animated the engine’s instead of having the models.
Memories from my childhood only consist of Season 1 and 2; for whatever reason I stopped watching thereafter. (Recently I binged watched both seasons) Heard that they took Edward down from the main characters, so I'm glad I stopped watching since Edward has always been my favourite. 😌
The Thomas theme is pretty special from its composition to just looking at the sounds used. Those are some killer synth sounds and the train sounds are great.
I love how people used to put so much effort and care into things. As you say this is so good for no reason. It's a kids TV programme there is no need for it to be this complex but they did it anyway. I wish society went back to taking more care over things.
Being a kids TV show there was all the more reason to take so much care. I think it's amazing when kids are exposed to what is actually great art aimed at their audience. Kids know when something has been done well for them, and they know when something has been done badly. Well, I knew, because I'm of the generation that had this! I loved it so much, still do!
One of the best theme songs of all time, Mike and Junior went so unbelievably hard with the series soundtrack. Every individual theme fits the characters so well and the arrangements are genius. I’m more partial to the earlier music of the first 2 series, brilliant usage of 80s synth that didn’t have that overbearing stereotypical ‘Big’ sound and instead used the Jupiter 6 to create a somewhat ‘classical’ soundtrack, Gordon and Edward’s themes being good examples of that. The usage of the Linn LM-1 to emulate the steam sounds is such a clever use of sound design. No children’s show soundtrack has stood out to me more than this one.
So you should absolutely do a deep dive into the different themes in the show. Each engine has their own and they all slap. James' theme is my personal favourite.
When I played jazz keys in high school, I transcribed this song. I remember being astonished by the depth and genius of the chord progressions. I also made a ragtime cover which was super fun to play. Later in high school we would try to throw the opening lick (GABCDE Ab) into our solos at concerts and festivals just to piss our band director off. Glad someone else uncovered the beauty for the internet to see!
I loved Thomas the Tank Engine as a kid, but I was petrified of the theme music. I don't know what it was about it, as soon as the music played I'd run into the kitchen and close the door waiting for it to end. As soon as it finished I'd come back in and enjoy the episode. I'm happy to say that now that I'm 37, I am now brave enough to listen it and it's pretty good.
You know, it didn't and doesn't scare me, but now that you say that, I can kind of see it. I'm no musicologist and can't explain exactly what features they are, but something about the chords could be interpreted as cheerfully sinister. Especially right at the start. Almost sounds like the tune is coming to get you, with a great big grin. Not unlike a steam locomotive, rolling relentlessly toward you with a human face...
Harmony of the first theme is a tribute to Duke Ellington's Take the A Train. It just substitutes D7b5 with th Ab7 😉 Super subtle, but super incisive. And yours is a super work. Thank you!
Good music tells a story. Thomas the tank engine is a story about trains, trains go from one place to another, but its also a story about personal growth, and learning from your mistakes. So as far as ending in a different key, hinting a different place than where you started, it makes sense! I love this theme!
Ayyy we getting old huh brother, I was trumpet back in the day. I never got to watch this show much unfortunately. Always knew this song could bump tho haha
For a time, (I think Jim Henson really brought it into popularity) music was seen as integral to kids shows, and they would spend a significant amount of money hiring great conductors and song writers. I think Backyardigans and Phineas and Ferb were some of the last kids shows to really poor blood sweat and tears into their soundtracks
Adventure Time would like a word. It's different, but it's for a different generation. I'm an old man, but I was blown away by AT when my kids were watching it.
@@MoistGrundle I would never dunk on Adventure Time's writing, but is its music really any good? Besides the masterpiece that is the bacon pancakes song, there's nothing impressive that I know about that's come out of it
Rev.Wilbert Awdry created Thomas the Tank engine and the other characters when his son Christopher had a bout of measles in 1942/3 to cheer him up. Christopher had a bossy friend called Gordon in the 1950's which is how that character was named. By 1945 W.Awdry published The Three Railway Engines, and a year late published Thomas the Tank Engine. Awdry was the son of a vicar and amateur railwayman, and the railway workers attended his church and would let them go for walks along the line. As child he would listen to a steam train at night which would go have to go uphill, and he described the sound of the engine going "I can't do it, I can't do it, I can't do it" and the banker (helper engine) going "yes you can, yes you can, yes you can". The theme tune captures Awdry's description of the sound a steam engine very well. Rev. Wilbert Awdry has brought generations of people so much joy, whether through the books or Thomas and Friends and other TV shows. In the books there is a touching message to his son Christopher. I watched Thomas and Friends and read the of the books growing up, I hadn't seen it in years but managed to find old episodes on TH-cam during the pandemic which was a real joy in an otherwise rotten time.
Me and my cousin Zack watched Thomas the Train on VHS almost religiously as little kids in the early 2000’s so the theme has always unironically brought me so much nostalgia 😂
You'll be surprised how good is the entire soundtrack is. Whether it's the jazzy feel of James' theme, the grand feel of Gordon's or the orchestral feel of Oliver's, composers Mike and Junior did a great job at creating a OST that everyone could enjoy.
Even as an adult it's a really good show to watch. They knew the audience was smart enough to handle it. It had good lessons and story telling moments. God I loved this show so much.
Mike and Junior were also put on the soundtrack for TTTE's sister show, Tugs. The intro to that slaps pretty hard too. It's an epic intro which goes perfectly with the footage of the tug boats working in the harbor from sunrise to sunset. A harmonious orchestra accompanied by a saxophone to really give it the 1920s feel of the shows setting
I always thought children's TV show intros were just made so well. Not just Thomas the tank engine but original Fireman sam intro, Scooby doo intro from 2002/6, Pippi longstocking "what shall I do today"..... Always felt like they put in lots of effort into something so small and probably insignificant to people after the age of 8. These ones really bring the nostalgia
Themes from the 70s and 80s are invariably bangers. Generally written my uber talented musicians with hippie mindsets who want to do something awesome and mind expanding for the kids.
Just to note, the high-hat isn't just a "steam cylinder chuff" sound, it's specifically a chuff sound produced by early steam sound units in G and 1 gauge model trains. I have an LGB starter set Stainz sound unit lying around in my workshop that makes that very sound.
@@Shakes-Off-Fear I mean, the studio was kitbashing and modifying Marklin 1-gauge models, so I wouldn't be surprised if they had a few of those around. Fun fact, whenever you see trucks moving but can't see the locomotive that's pushing or pulling them, it's actually a Marklin 1-gauge model of a German Federal Railways Class 80 0-6-0, running number 80 031.
I’m a huge fan of Thomas the Tank Engine, and even though when Thomas was sold to HiT in 2004 and marketed towards a more American audience instead of British, it wasn’t terrible until around season 8 or 9, but it was a huge bummer to have this beautiful theme song be replaced after season 7. Mike O’Donnel and Junior Campbell wrote this theme and were the composers from season 1 until season 7. They brought an amazing energy to the show and I highly recommended checking out “The Flying Kipper” (Season 1, Episode 19) and “Henry’s Forest” (Season 3, Episode 9) because they have some of the best music scores in the show. Thomas may seem like a very toddler targeted show, but like postman pat, it is a younger audience marketed show, but has themes that all ages can enjoy. At least the first 7 seasons of course!
The song seems whimsical and doesn't take itself seriously with the left field chord progressions and samples as instruments, but always resolves so perfectly that it really should take itself seriously. Reminds me of Harlem globetrotters, but for the ears.
Something I remember Ian McKellen saying in an interview: "Take your work seriously, but don't take yourself too seriously." Apparently applies to music too ;)
I'm not sure why, but I feel like the Harlem Globetrotters theme itself with its whistles and similar ragtime groove is pretty similar to the Thomas the Tank Engine theme
Can you please record a full-length version of "Thomas the Tank Engine Theme (Standard Arrangement)"? It would fill a hole in my soul which I didn't know was there.
There’s a playlist called “Thomas Reorchestrated” that has BIG orchestral arrangements of the season 1 songs. Gordon’s theme with a big band is THE sound of speed for me now
This video actually made me a lot more emotional than I thought it would. When I was a kid, I used to watch old Thomas the Tank Engine episodes on VHS whenever I would go to my grandparents’ house. I think of it now as my grandpa sharing his love of trains with me in the best way he knew how. He passed away a few years ago, and now this theme song just makes me think of him. 😔
This theme is quintessentially jazzy, with elements of ragtime and even dixieland. As for jazz covers, insaneintherainmusic probably did the best cover I’ve heard
Been watching Thomas the Tank Engine with my boy this summer. The music goes far harder than it needs to. However, I will say that good compositions tend to not annoy parents, so I think it's more for the sanity of the parents than it is for the education or entertainment of the kids.
i grew up watching the show and the theme song is one of my earliest musical memories, it definitely stuck with me much more than a ton of more low-effort theme songs from other shows i watched as a kid. The cream will rise to the top!
I was so surprised at how much the theme song has changed over the years. Its had like....over 5 different versions with even more animation variations
Someone else here commented that in an interview one of the composers stated that they believe that it’s important to write genuinely good music for children’s shows because children have a greater appreciation for complexity in music than most people give them credit for
The sanity of the parents is an important consideration when the episodes are only 5 minutes long and the opening and closing credits have the same tune, so if binging you will be listening to the theme song 20+ times per hour...
Absolutely! Thomas was my first introduction to different characters having their own themes long before I discovered film scores. There's even a brilliant double theme between the Thomas main theme and what I think of as the "breakdown train" theme in "Thomas Goes Fishing"
When you have extremely talented composers that take their work seriously, you get masterpieces like this song. This is the reason why a lot of classic theme songs are still used today 👌
The thing this it should be insane. With ringo star as the main narrator. It’s almost certain you had Paul macarney helping with it as well. Thomas’s theme song is almost certainly the final pure collab of the Beatles. I’m almost certain George Harrison (who I’m not sure if he was actually alive when this was written but if not he was defo speaking through spirit). And John Lennon phasing through time to help on one of his past acid trips. And because I’ve said this on the internet it’s now factual 100%.
This is a really nice analysis, but just to add to it a bit - First, the connection with "Mean Mr. Mustard" has everything to do with the way the key center slides up and down at the same time as these almost totally chromatic ascending/descending figures are going back and forth, almost to the point where the song comes off like an exact musical representation of how the title character probably lopes drunkenly down the street. "TTTE", for its part, aims for and achieves a smoother, more relaxed version of this feel, with the frequent key changes arguably being an intentional representation of how much variety a happy sentient train would get to experience on a journey - fields, rivers, towns, villages, all kinds of weather, you name it, Thomas & Friends have glided along at a consistent pace right through it. Second, the very start of the melody of "TTTE" is pretty blatanly borrowed from an ACTUAL jazz standard about a train, that being "Take The 'A' Train". (This cover that finally synthesizes the two songs makes the connection pretty much impossible to ever miss again once heard: th-cam.com/video/YYob4uDjEKI/w-d-xo.html) And third, that diminished scale at the end strikes me as being very likely a reference/homage to Scott Joplin's "The Maple Leaf Rag" and/or "The Entertainer", both of which are immensely famous and have musical elements that heavily overlap with each other as well as "TTTE". I'm sure there's more to say, but that's what hits me the most clearly.
It always fascinates me how when you watch musical breakdowns like this that you'll often be reminded of other pieces. This time, the walkdown highlighted at 7:06 instantly put me in mind of the walkdown leading into the chorus of "I Can't Stop Loving You" by Leo Sayer.
I HIGHLY recommend looking at other tracks from the series. This series is legendary for its vocal talent, score, set and model design. Top tier entertainment. Really deserves a second look. The flying kipper theme is amazing! And the James theme has been covered like crazy.
The Viaduct theme slaps hard; always puts the audience in the moment. Henry/The flying Kipper theme never fails to feel epic, grand triumphant. The watermill theme is beautiful. While James' jazz theme is up there, I have to give my #1 spot to Percy's S3 theme. Bursting with energy; and also my goto to show how the show evolved and grew compared to other shows. Percys theme reflects that really well; I've always said Thomas is the MC but Percy has the most evolution. His theme from s1-5 reflects his character growth
An added point is that the downbeat arguably pops more through the tune than the main beat. Largely due to the left hand effectively being a rag-time riff. - I agree hugely though that it's the unresolved aspects that really make this appealing. It almost has a jazz quality to it. NGL either, I've always had a bizarre fascination with the bridge chord progression. It just works SO well.
In my opinion Thomas the tank engine was and I mean ‘was’ the greatest kids show ever. 1. Because the models on the classic sets that trick you into thinking it’s real. 2. As mentioned the amazing soundtrack and 3. The feel that it wasn’t just a kid show with the darker themes like scraping engines. This will be my favourite show forever sad what Mattel did to it in 2018
After this and The Transformers, I'd love to see you look at other theme songs, like Ducktales, Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers, Darkwing Duck, M.A.S.K., GI JOE, Jonny Quest, The Racoons, GEM, and probably a hundred more that I didn't mention.
DuckTales theme is great. The popular opinion is that the original is better than the remake, and I have to agree that the brass just gives such awesome energy. But I think I prefer the overall makeup of the remake.
I've heard the remake, and indeed both my son and my ex-wife enjoy the new series, but I can't bring it to mine at all. The classic theme, though, is one of those I can always hear in my head. :-)
Oh Mike and Junior weren’t the only passionate people on classic Thomas. The first 5 seasons are absolutely stunning in terms of models and filming, on top of the score. Every single theme in those early seasons goes just as hard. The stories were pretty good too back then. They stuck pretty close to the original books, which themselves were a really grounded love-letter to railways that didn’t speak down to kids. Unfortunately that magic has been lost to time…
I really appreciate you getting the Duck Tales theme song stuck in my head now. I've been rocking the Street Sharks and Biker Mice from Mars themes lately. On a kick.
I love that after the B section, during the bridge, the clip they show is Thomas driving over, you guessed it, a bridge Also for all the people in the comments asking for a full cover of the Thomas theme, Insaneintherainmusic has a brilliant cover of this on his channel, check it out!
I love how tickled and delighted he is! I had it on my someday/maybe list to sit at a piano and analyze this theme; glad this guy took care of that for me. I loved the Ringo narration series and always thought the theme had a late Beatles vibe, and this all now makes more sense. Thanks for the magical musical tour through the Island of Sodor! 🛤🚂🎶
Carlos from insaneintherain made a jazz cover of this a few years ago and I remember being blown away by the fact that it sounded quite legit, and wasn't just a meme
I was obsessed with Thomas as a kid, and as I grew out of the show, I never grew out of this song. It's so cool to see that people still appreciate the music
The theme is very interesting as it travels around keys like a train circumnavigating the island of Sodor on the main line. I’m sure that was intended by the creators.
The other thing that gave it the charm was the instrument they used, the Roland Jupiter 6, as the antiquated steam engines accompanied by such a harmonic note couldn’t have been cheap to get an actual band to perform, so managing to pull off a hummable and memorable soundtrack like this gave it a budgeted feel, which with the music and rather upbeat nature of the stories made it feel homey, like an actual place you can easily settle into if the Isle of Sodor was real, an austerity feel to everything, from the bustling yards and trains in and out of the station with a chipper tune in the background felt busy, and endearing. That’s why I think the soundtrack defined how the show felt from seasons 1-4
Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell made absolutely beautiful themes for Thomas. Every engine, major location, and serious scenes have their own themes that make it so iconic. O'Donnell has actually been remaking and releasing the themes that you can purchase on his website. They're a great listen!
it has a weird sorta Ellington vibe going on, I never really noticed how cool this theme was when I watched this as a kid but now I know why it hit so hard lol
@@james_subosits not only that, the first 4 bars of the A sections are basically the same harmonically. Only difference is D7b5 instead of Ab7 which is basically the same chord with a different root
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@@RyJohnsonMusic, came here to see if someone said this in the comments. Thanks!
if this video doesn't mention that first ascending phrase of the theme also being the chorus bass run in elliott smith's "between the bars" I am going to be sorely disappointed
God how I loved this show. I was obsessed as a toddler and it always held a special place in my heart. Now so even more as I realized how brilliant it really was musically and as a piece of music. Nice observation and blast from the past man.
Thomas has hands down some of the best music in TV. Each engine had their own theme music. Runaway trains feel intense because of the music alone. I hope you go even more in depth with this shows music in the future.
You always seem like you are having the time of your life, no matter what topic you're discussing. You're definitely one of my favorite subscriptions 😊
Try checking out the 'Tugs' theme, it was created by the exact two compossers that made Thomas's theme (Mike O'Donnell and Junior Cambell) but it has a completely different feel to it and is an absolute joy to listen to, keep up the good work btw!
I was gonna say its always sounded Beatley to me, didnt know it was actually written by a guy who worked with them though! And obviously Ringo narrating, really came full circle
We never got George C after Ringo in the OG UK version - most of our Thomas content was a fella called Michael Angelis. He had a very similar timbre to Ringo so as kids we never really noticed the difference. Thomas was absolutely huge for elder UK millennials (I'm born in 85) and the theme tune was iconic even before it became the meme tune.
Shining Time Station is the American version (Ringo followed by George Carlin as the conductor, also starring Didi Conn from Grease), and the theme was different. I actually love both themes, the original UK version and the early 90's American version.
I love watching you break down these songs that i never would've thought to break down. Ab to C is a harmony i wouldn't have thought to do myself but it worked major props to whoever wrote the Thomas theme
Additional info: one of the composers of the thomas theme, was already an established songwriter by the time he wrote the theme. He was in a band in the 60s called Marmalade and had some really legendary songs....
I have always heard this as a ragtime piano with a form of skiffle drum beat. This is why it has the odd key changes that still flow in a great manner. Those 2 musical forms together also create a rhythm that can slide under a ton of different musical styles.
And ragtime was popular during the peak of the age of steam. I remember as a kid the style of the theme feeling appropriate to the show, without really knowing why. And when you've got Ringo Starr loitering around, the pressure is on to impress.
@@brianspenst1374 they're called trills alright, octave trills for the ones that alternate your left-right hand playing the same things but in a different octave, or using the thumb and pinky stretched out on a single hand, to play the same single note on 2 octaves alternated with a wrist tilting movement keeping those fingers stretched, rather than moving the fingers or using a wrist downward motion, that tilting motion with the wrist being the center of gravity is quintessentially honky-tonk ;) i mean, if you "trill" chords outlining them staccato, aren't they really just very quick arpeggios? where does one draw the line at what is a trill ? semitone hammeron/pulloff combos on stringed instruments are trills or any interval for that matter, so i'm going to have to assume trills are strictly alternating 2 notes really quickly, hell maybe even chords, regardless of interval, but any complexity beyond alternating exactly 2 hits of the 2 notes or chords in the repeated pattern is technically just a really goddamn fast arpeggio, right? :P
One likely reason why the pitch is off is because it's produced in 25 fps and adapted to 24 fps. By slowing the show down, the pitch is lowered by about ¾ semitones or 72 cents.
Most of the songs in the series involve the chuffing noise. It really is a credit to the composers the amount of thought out into. I find myself listening to a lot of the different songs when I’m feeling nostalgic
After watching Thomas, we can't help but wonder why people would take any mode of transport that isn't a train. While I took a Boeing 747 to Singapore in 2018, I went by train to Beijing, Hanoi, and Vladivostok to see Xi Jinping, my second meeting with Trump, and Vladimir Putin respectively. Trains get the job done, leave you right in the middle of town without having to find extra transport from the airport, and you see so much more scenery
The old Shining Time Station show with Carlin and Starr was my childhood. I LOVED trains as a kid. We couldn’t actually pick up the show where we lived in Alaska, so my grandparents down in California would record a bunch of them and then mail us videocassettes.
A lot of TV music in the UK was a lot more technically complex than you'd expect, given than it was only supposed to be on screen for 30 seconds whilst the titles rolled. Look at the music for shows like "To the Manor born" or "Yes, Minister". Or - one of my favorites - "supergran" or "Have I got news for you" - which goes harder than TV themes really should!
This theme always reminds me of Take the A-train by Ellington, probably due to the chords’ succession, which is quite a coincidence cause Thomas is actually a train !!
@@jde824 Waw that’s so nice ! I know that insaneintherain has done an interpretation of TTTE too, and in the bigband way so that’s pretty nice either !
Always knew that theme song slapped for a reason as a kid. Bro and I would get DOWN to that. Also: love how that double-time part matches the tempo of “chugs” made by a moving train engine. Really went all in with the train theme throughout the song.
I still remember it from the 80's, when, on TV Ontario (a PBS like channel in Canada) they sometimes had it between shows (because some of the shows they had, especially from the UK and Europe, weren't the traditional half hour length, and of course, no commercials) I liked it. The narrator/"Mr Conductor" (he only got that name for Shining Time Station in 1989) was only replaced by George Carlin for Shining Time Station in North America, Michael Angelis was Starr's replacement for the UK version (but he eventually replaced George Carlin). A couple of random facts: Rev. Awdry did come up with some original stories for the series. Because of contractual technicalities, he actually wrote a couple of books just so they could be used for the show. Also, the musical "Starlight Express" by Andrew Lloyd Weber was supposed to be based on the Thomas and Friends series, but Rev. Awdry denied him permission.
I'm 40 and I grew up watching Thomas as a very young child. I have hinestly ot smiled more during a youtube video because I have always LOVED the theme tune but couldn't have ever possibly have explained why. This video is the very definition of why TH-cam exists!
Thomas the Tank Engine has so much good music. One song that I've always loved from that show in specific was "Accidents Will Happen" (original 1999 version) which also has a bit of some complex harmony.
Did you know that the man who created the original models for the TV series was Tim Staffell? He is a bass guitarist and singer. His first band was with Brian May and Roger Taylor, and they played as Smile. Tim Staffell left Smile in 1970, and Farrokh Bulsara took over, changed his name to Freddie Mercury, and they became Queen. I always thought Henry looked like John Deacon from Queen and I once asked Tim if that was deliberate, and he said it was just coincidence!
I mean, they were going off illustrations that were already part of the public consciousness for 40 years, they had some leeway and made use of it but they didn't have enough to be that radical with it.
The other thing is the musical imagery of the music. Not just is the prominent steam engine percussion there, but much of the musical variation mimics the variable rattles and vibrations of a carriage of the steam eras. As the music plays, you can almost feel the seat under you rattling as you pass over a steel girder section, or a concrete overpass, where the rolling stock will have that distinct rattle from their normal clackety clack on the ballast sections. You also hear the same rise and fall as you do in classical music (especially opera and ballet) regarding hills, rises and depressions. Coupled with the recorded motion of the introduction videography, it allows the listener (whether a toddler, an adult or a geriatric) to be immersed in a virtual railroad experience with Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends. When you compare the complexity and beauty of this music to the rubbish of the modern iterations, we have just lost so much. The Thomas the Tank Engine theme is up there as one of the musical greats, with that musical imagery fit to complete with classics such as the William Tell Overture or the Hall of the Mountain King.
I always thought this was a nod to Ellington's Take the A Train. Same progression except the II7 (D7) was the tritone Ab7. Of course, then it goes in a different direction but still a pretty cool train reference. Thanks for all the good work and great vids!
Agreed. I was looking around the comments to see if someone already posted that. Even the melodies are clearly related : the only difference is that one uses a diatonic walk up between the G and the E (Thomas) and the other uses a C major arpeggio (Take the A Train). But besides that both go from G to E, then jump down to G#/Ab and stay there for a whole bar before finally resolving up to A
I had never seen an episode Thomas the Tank Engine, but when I heard it I instantly thought of Duke Ellingtons "Take the A Train" - the melody, the compositional style. Ellingtons compositions , at least to my novice ears, have that "all over the place" tendency you refer to. Then I realized that both compositions are thematically about trains, so that makes me wonder if "take the A train" wasn't a reference for the Thomas the Tank Engine Theme. Just a thought.
I think that reference comes from the melody - they have that same distinctive descending interval at the end of the phrase, from the E to the Ab. Both tunes start on a C chord, with the melody on the E, and then the Ab/G# lands on a D7(#11) in A Train, and the Ab7 in the Thomas theme. And in writing that I just noticed - the Ab7 and D7 are tritone substitutions of each other, meaning the chords themselves have a very similar character, so you'd probably recognise the similarity even with a different melody note. Good spotting. :) Whether intentionally composed that way or not, an awesome little bit of music theory trivia. :)
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I think you should make a video about the music in The Godfather
Along the lines of: Why everyone remembered the Godfather music
You need to review halo ODSTs soundtrack. Jazz in a first person shooter Is such an awesome combination
can you make a video about kung fu panda's music? Tai Lung's theme, Kai's theme
Please review tf2 soundtrack
Can you do a video in stride piano style?
It's weird hearing this song without it being bass boosted out of existence
🤣🤣🤣
It's weird hearing it without Biggie Smalls rapping.
actually kinda refreshing lol
Yeah if the levels aren't blown out I ain't gettin' turnt
@@Klabbity_Kloots ikr
This video gave me one of those "wait, how did we get here?" moments. I'm listening to a jazz pianist talk about how great the TTTE theme is, and now we're breaking it down in highly-trained, well-experienced, grown-up musician terms, and we're serious about it. This is what the internet is really for.
I know right !
Amen! My thoughts exactly!
Well the best artists tend to be well rounded, and being well rounded tends to make a more kind and understanding person.
Memes are a silly part of the warmth and empathy connecting people across time and space.
"Highly-trained" HA
Whenever I think about stuff like this I tend to think about how the folks behind the composition/arranging were trained professionals - so they knew how to use all these techniques and ideas, even if it was all for a kids show. That said, this theme is epic. The sounds chosen are super kid friendly and charming, but the harmony is wild
That dastardly diminished chord feels like a nod to villains from the silent film era. Love how much fun this is
Sounds like ragtime which often has railroad themes
The whole thing is very ragtime-indebted. There's a line in Scott Joplin's 'Maple Leaf Rag' that sounds so similar to part of the Thomas theme that I'm convinced that it was an intentional nod on the Thomas composers' part.
@@metalnut92 I've noticed this line as well, and I'm sure we're thinking of the same part.
I know at least one other character theme in the show borrows heavily from an old big band tune (I forget which one at the moment), so I wouldn't be surprised if they intentionally "quoted" various musical lines from classic tunes.
I have thought this for decades and never seen anyone reference it. Absolutely, it’s the final section of the Maple Leaf Rag which feels exactly like TTTE. I can see it’s in A flat but no idea why it’s such a strong link.
@@jackorion7157 I was also thinking ragtime. The whole theme sounds like it was played on Winifred Atwell's Other Piano.
I still unironically enjoy watching the classic Thomas series. Even though I’m a bit too old to be gripped by the stories anymore (not to mention I’ve seen and read them a dozen times already), the gorgeous visuals and incredible music are so intoxicating. Britt Alcroft and the Rev. W. Audry didn’t just make my childhood, they made my whole life 😂❤️
Hey, don't forget about the director during the classic series, Dave Mitton.
@@thehwguy4293 Good point 😅👍🏻
@@AdrienMelody If you like the classic Thomas series, wait until you watch Mitton’s passion project TUGS. It really helped with making Thomas better from Season 3 onward.
@@wumpus976 I’ve seen a lot of it, it’s quite impressive visually
I still watch it and fraggle rock too. I think it kept me saner than most during the past couple of years,unironically.
7:19
It's absolutely genius that they have Thomas on the bridge for the bridge
I was wondering if anyone else caught onto that 🤣
i love how hes jamming out while listening to it lol
and how about when the music is coming back to main, Thomas is also coming towards the camera and then kinda loops back to the beginning of video/music
The video isn't the actually the intro video. It's that, but extended to fit the full length arrangement of the theme with a lot of clips added in between. The first 2 clips and the last clip are all that you have in the actual intro.
@@engineerskalinera u know too much
I read an interview with the composer of the Postman Pat theme once (which is a deceptively tricky piece to play) and he said how you should never patronise young children with lazy writing, as they have a far greater appreciation for complexity in music than many people realise.
honestly, when they switched up thomas i couldnt watch it as a kid anymore. it just felt annoying. going back now i realise that the old show is just as good as i remember and it really did get worse. i didnt grow up. they pander to kids and it isnt as interesting to watch
It’s why a lot of the music from the first 5-6 years of power rangers is really good because it never really pandered to children there were great music that if it wasn’t tied to kids show would be loved I think
I mean as a kid my favorite song for the longest time was In the Hall of the Mountain King, so I'd say he's on to something.
@@AuthorUndertheVoid I loved Pet Shop Boys - Go West, and Jean-Michel Jarre - Oxygene IV, but it took me decades to find Oxygene IV again.
Yes agreed- kids can be very advanced musically. I loved this one and many other such as astro boy as a kid in the 80s.
My mom once had a job playing piano in a hotel restaurant… I think if you rearranged the rhythm a little you could easily slip a piano version of this into the set list without most people noticing.
She was also working upstairs in the rooms as i remember
Wtf?
@@thedancinggymnastwhat? i feel some nice music would be fun while eating, and they can probably still go home after a little
@@mincat1412they may have been replying to Bobby
@@kaitlyn__L replies exist but idk
This just proves the pure composing genius of Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell, not to mention Britt Allcroft's insistance of not dumbing down the music to kids so that everyone of all ages can enjoy it
I'm from the 80s grew up watching Thomas. That's why our generation seems to be more prepared for the real world because we handled whatever we encountered...
@@harrisoncarranza41 Who asked?
@@SalesmanWaveI did!
Campbell wrote 'I see the rain again' which is a fine piece of psychedelia.
With all the moving around chords, keys, and harmonies, I wonder if it's the musical equivalent of traveling on a train.
It goes everywhere and you're seeing all sorts of locations.
You're there for a destination, but you're also in it for the journey. It's like a smooth train ride.
And it ending at a different major than the beginning means you're at the station.
Kinda like Thomas!
This is an amazing analogy
i think it's more that mediant modulations feel very large and loud
also I'm surprised he didn't mention how the diminished chord gives it a ragtime feel 9:40 which is interesting since ragtime often has railroad themes
At 9:20 he says 'we end in a different place from where we started'. Isn't that the point of a train trip? :-)
@@zedcarnz exactly!!
That's a pretty damn good explanation, I'm going with that.
The thing is, British television had so many great pieces of music for theme songs. Postman Pat, Thunderbirds, Thomas etc. So very memorable.
Yes, even just sticking to kids' programmes, One of the best has to be Robinson Crusoe. I believe that though it was a French production, the BBC commisioned a fresh score for the English dubbed version. But it's not just the main theme that's so good, there are several equally memorable incidental themes.
Dangermouse!
Eastenders and Red Dwarf!
Count Duckula, Dogtanian, Inspector Gadget (or was that one american?). Even Grange Hill and Byker Grove had great themes.
The music from the Thunderbirds Are Go movie is fantastic, especially the piece when Zero-x is taking off
CHARLES those syncopations on the thumbnail are giving me a stroke. Can I please renotate them?
PS. Keep up the bangin' content.
Oh hey it’s you
me when strok
If you think about it, that actually tracks as an analogy for the show and Thomas himself. You end in a different place then you started; a lot changes on the way, but in the end it all went smoothly.
Except for that one naughty engine, that was bricked over in the tunnel and left for dead 🚂 💀🎩
Deep
"that tracks"
Very good, very good. *Ties* into the theme without going off the *rails.*
Yeah. Every train had a soundtrack to contextualise their individual characters. James, Gordon and Percy all had their own accompanying musical score that complimented their distinctly diverse personalities
@@poolhall9632He was literally let out the next episode. TF you talking about?
You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for a video on this. My whole dang life. I wouldn’t be a musician or writer today if it wasn’t for the music of Thomas.
There has already been a video 2 years ago
@@joejolliffe I’ve seen that one as well lol
fuck yeah
You know this might be true for me also. Lol, it was my favorite show growing up and I hummed the song everywhere I went as a kid.
SAME HERE BRO, I COMMENTED ON ALMOST EVERY VIDEO FOR THIS
It's fun to watch someone who actually understands the technical aspects of music discuss a song I can only describe as 'neat', and explain that, basically, I'm right.
That last bit that starts at 1:40 always gave me shivers. Me and my brother were sooo angry when they introduced the “They’re 2, they’re 4, they’re 6 they’re 8,” song and animated the engine’s instead of having the models.
That made me angry too and postman pat and fireman Sam also changed
SAMMMMME
The 2468 version theme is no better than the OG version.
I just looked it up. They butchered that gem 😢
Memories from my childhood only consist of Season 1 and 2; for whatever reason I stopped watching thereafter. (Recently I binged watched both seasons) Heard that they took Edward down from the main characters, so I'm glad I stopped watching since Edward has always been my favourite. 😌
The Thomas theme is pretty special from its composition to just looking at the sounds used. Those are some killer synth sounds and the train sounds are great.
The groooooove
I love how people used to put so much effort and care into things. As you say this is so good for no reason. It's a kids TV programme there is no need for it to be this complex but they did it anyway. I wish society went back to taking more care over things.
Amen to that
Being a kids TV show there was all the more reason to take so much care. I think it's amazing when kids are exposed to what is actually great art aimed at their audience. Kids know when something has been done well for them, and they know when something has been done badly. Well, I knew, because I'm of the generation that had this! I loved it so much, still do!
Well this wasn't only for kids it was for all ages
Be the change you want to see in the world, folks!
@@kadenrobinson7067 Facts
One of the best theme songs of all time, Mike and Junior went so unbelievably hard with the series soundtrack. Every individual theme fits the characters so well and the arrangements are genius. I’m more partial to the earlier music of the first 2 series, brilliant usage of 80s synth that didn’t have that overbearing stereotypical ‘Big’ sound and instead used the Jupiter 6 to create a somewhat ‘classical’ soundtrack, Gordon and Edward’s themes being good examples of that.
The usage of the Linn LM-1 to emulate the steam sounds is such a clever use of sound design.
No children’s show soundtrack has stood out to me more than this one.
Nice to see you here, bud
@@Whiteythereaper couldn’t miss a video like this lol.
@@SudrianAfro when he said "this theme goes all over the place" I was laughing thinking you are like "oh trust me it gets weirder" *cue fergus theme*
@@TheAvergeRailwayFan oh yeah, Fergus’ theme gets a little crazy in some parts.
@@SudrianAfro if anyone should know that, its you lol
This song has lived rent free in my head since I was 4. You should look into the individual engine themes. Gordon and James have the best
That I had not noticed. I have to take listen :)
Henry's theme is my favourite. It suits the character and his journey quite perfectly.
Henry's theme has so many variations too, with the sad theme of him bricked up in the tunnel to the triumphant version of The Flying Kipper.
@@WaterCrane The whole bricked up in the tunnel story was so traumatizing
Edward's is by far my favourite
So you should absolutely do a deep dive into the different themes in the show. Each engine has their own and they all slap. James' theme is my personal favourite.
Yes!! James theme is THE BEST!!!
I dunno dude, diesel's theme was pretty gangsta
My favorite is the runaway theme... Tho they're all good. Shows how imaginative the creators were...
mine too, on top of james being my favorite character haha
When I played jazz keys in high school, I transcribed this song. I remember being astonished by the depth and genius of the chord progressions. I also made a ragtime cover which was super fun to play. Later in high school we would try to throw the opening lick (GABCDE Ab) into our solos at concerts and festivals just to piss our band director off. Glad someone else uncovered the beauty for the internet to see!
As a high school jazz band director, that is hilarious. 😂
my friend would do that with the peppa pig theme
That's fucking iconic, such a high school jazz band thing to do too
Dude, I need a video!
Absolutely perfect trolling for band directors
I loved Thomas the Tank Engine as a kid, but I was petrified of the theme music. I don't know what it was about it, as soon as the music played I'd run into the kitchen and close the door waiting for it to end. As soon as it finished I'd come back in and enjoy the episode.
I'm happy to say that now that I'm 37, I am now brave enough to listen it and it's pretty good.
😂😂😂
You know, it didn't and doesn't scare me, but now that you say that, I can kind of see it. I'm no musicologist and can't explain exactly what features they are, but something about the chords could be interpreted as cheerfully sinister. Especially right at the start. Almost sounds like the tune is coming to get you, with a great big grin. Not unlike a steam locomotive, rolling relentlessly toward you with a human face...
Haha, I remember LOVING the music when I was a kid.
O
Because you knew what the future held with Thomas
th-cam.com/video/2q82bGtujFA/w-d-xo.html
Harmony of the first theme is a tribute to Duke Ellington's Take the A Train.
It just substitutes D7b5 with th Ab7 😉
Super subtle, but super incisive.
And yours is a super work.
Thank you!
100%, I’m surprised how many people miss this point.
Good spot 🚂
First thing I picked up on. Kind of a Chattanooga Choo-Choo sound, too.
Good music tells a story. Thomas the tank engine is a story about trains, trains go from one place to another, but its also a story about personal growth, and learning from your mistakes. So as far as ending in a different key, hinting a different place than where you started, it makes sense! I love this theme!
As a Thomas fan since age 5, and a band geek since age 13, and a father at age 33, thank you so much for this. It's incredible.
Ayyy we getting old huh brother, I was trumpet back in the day. I never got to watch this show much unfortunately. Always knew this song could bump tho haha
@@xEvilRaptorx we really did getting older, can't believed it wow.
@@xEvilRaptorx Bass clarinet here man, lol. Good times in HS band
I’m in my mid 20’s loved Thomas the tank engine as a kid
the only difference from me to you is im not a dad hahaha
For a time, (I think Jim Henson really brought it into popularity) music was seen as integral to kids shows, and they would spend a significant amount of money hiring great conductors and song writers. I think Backyardigans and Phineas and Ferb were some of the last kids shows to really poor blood sweat and tears into their soundtracks
Milo Murphy's law also did that pretty well
Bluey is bringing that back; the soundtrack is awesome
@@decent_random same creator and team as phineas and ferb, makes sense
Adventure Time would like a word. It's different, but it's for a different generation. I'm an old man, but I was blown away by AT when my kids were watching it.
@@MoistGrundle I would never dunk on Adventure Time's writing, but is its music really any good? Besides the masterpiece that is the bacon pancakes song, there's nothing impressive that I know about that's come out of it
Rev.Wilbert Awdry created Thomas the Tank engine and the other characters when his son Christopher had a bout of measles in 1942/3 to cheer him up. Christopher had a bossy friend called Gordon in the 1950's which is how that character was named. By 1945 W.Awdry published The Three Railway Engines, and a year late published Thomas the Tank Engine. Awdry was the son of a vicar and amateur railwayman, and the railway workers attended his church and would let them go for walks along the line. As child he would listen to a steam train at night which would go have to go uphill, and he described the sound of the engine going "I can't do it, I can't do it, I can't do it" and the banker (helper engine) going "yes you can, yes you can, yes you can". The theme tune captures Awdry's description of the sound a steam engine very well. Rev. Wilbert Awdry has brought generations of people so much joy, whether through the books or Thomas and Friends and other TV shows. In the books there is a touching message to his son Christopher. I watched Thomas and Friends and read the of the books growing up, I hadn't seen it in years but managed to find old episodes on TH-cam during the pandemic which was a real joy in an otherwise rotten time.
Me and my cousin Zack watched Thomas the Train on VHS almost religiously as little kids in the early 2000’s so the theme has always unironically brought me so much nostalgia 😂
GOOD JOB PHIL YOU SURE GOT ME GOOD ON THAT ONE!
Actually it's thomas the tank engine or thomas and friends, a train is a series of cars while the main engine is the so called train
Tank Engine*
You'll be surprised how good is the entire soundtrack is. Whether it's the jazzy feel of James' theme, the grand feel of Gordon's or the orchestral feel of Oliver's, composers Mike and Junior did a great job at creating a OST that everyone could enjoy.
Hopefully will get more of the fandom to recognize this video
I can’t remember it for the life of me, but I immediately remembered that James’ theme was my favourite as a kid
James's theme is a personal favorite of mine, it swings wonderfully hard
Henry's Theme / Flying Kipper are my favorites. So melancholy.
The music that plays when they rescue Oliver from scrap in the early hours still gives 29 year old me chills :)
The first 5 seasons of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends are pure brilliance, and I recommend them to absolutely everyone if they're curious.
3 year old me knew what was up, guess I gotta revisit
Even as an adult it's a really good show to watch. They knew the audience was smart enough to handle it. It had good lessons and story telling moments. God I loved this show so much.
So was The Brenner Era (S17-S21)
@@xxxmcnuggwtsxxx9859 Brenner Era was a real return to form for the show. Damn shame Mattel fucked that up.
YES
Mike and Junior were also put on the soundtrack for TTTE's sister show, Tugs. The intro to that slaps pretty hard too. It's an epic intro which goes perfectly with the footage of the tug boats working in the harbor from sunrise to sunset. A harmonious orchestra accompanied by a saxophone to really give it the 1920s feel of the shows setting
Yess...and the bridge cafe theme was gold
Man, I've never seen that show, but I vaguely remember seeing something about it when I was a kid.
I always thought children's TV show intros were just made so well. Not just Thomas the tank engine but original Fireman sam intro, Scooby doo intro from 2002/6, Pippi longstocking "what shall I do today"..... Always felt like they put in lots of effort into something so small and probably insignificant to people after the age of 8. These ones really bring the nostalgia
Themes from the 70s and 80s are invariably bangers. Generally written my uber talented musicians with hippie mindsets who want to do something awesome and mind expanding for the kids.
Yes. Rather than just being paid to make something generic after given a vague concept. Themes like this had heart put into them.
Old kid's shows are superior in almost every way 99% of the time.
OG Dr Who Theme slaps
@@GlennDavey So, so glad someone else commented this. Also genuinely scary when I first heard it at age... eight? Eightish.
Ducktales comes to mind
Just to note, the high-hat isn't just a "steam cylinder chuff" sound, it's specifically a chuff sound produced by early steam sound units in G and 1 gauge model trains. I have an LGB starter set Stainz sound unit lying around in my workshop that makes that very sound.
Neeeeerrrrrrrrd.
@@ThatCoalSoul
Takes one to know one. And yes, I know where that's from.
@@VestedUTuber Good call. Also I thought your vest was The Tardis.
That’s pure gold that they went to that much effort
@@Shakes-Off-Fear
I mean, the studio was kitbashing and modifying Marklin 1-gauge models, so I wouldn't be surprised if they had a few of those around.
Fun fact, whenever you see trucks moving but can't see the locomotive that's pushing or pulling them, it's actually a Marklin 1-gauge model of a German Federal Railways Class 80 0-6-0, running number 80 031.
I’m a huge fan of Thomas the Tank Engine, and even though when Thomas was sold to HiT in 2004 and marketed towards a more American audience instead of British, it wasn’t terrible until around season 8 or 9, but it was a huge bummer to have this beautiful theme song be replaced after season 7. Mike O’Donnel and Junior Campbell wrote this theme and were the composers from season 1 until season 7. They brought an amazing energy to the show and I highly recommended checking out “The Flying Kipper” (Season 1, Episode 19) and “Henry’s Forest” (Season 3, Episode 9) because they have some of the best music scores in the show. Thomas may seem like a very toddler targeted show, but like postman pat, it is a younger audience marketed show, but has themes that all ages can enjoy. At least the first 7 seasons of course!
I am sure Ringo was the inspiration. It is so British , so Beatles. Loved the show.
I was looking for this. I love this song so much. It's like the 1920s and 1980s combined in a train yard and created a masterpiece.
The song seems whimsical and doesn't take itself seriously with the left field chord progressions and samples as instruments, but always resolves so perfectly that it really should take itself seriously. Reminds me of Harlem globetrotters, but for the ears.
Top tier comment!
Something I remember Ian McKellen saying in an interview:
"Take your work seriously, but don't take yourself too seriously."
Apparently applies to music too ;)
I like to think that what you do doesn't have to be serious as long as you take the craft seriously.
It's called steez
I'm not sure why, but I feel like the Harlem Globetrotters theme itself with its whistles and similar ragtime groove is pretty similar to the Thomas the Tank Engine theme
Can you please record a full-length version of "Thomas the Tank Engine Theme (Standard Arrangement)"? It would fill a hole in my soul which I didn't know was there.
There’s a playlist called “Thomas Reorchestrated” that has BIG orchestral arrangements of the season 1 songs. Gordon’s theme with a big band is THE sound of speed for me now
insaneintherainmusic did one lol
Yes, please!!
This video actually made me a lot more emotional than I thought it would. When I was a kid, I used to watch old Thomas the Tank Engine episodes on VHS whenever I would go to my grandparents’ house. I think of it now as my grandpa sharing his love of trains with me in the best way he knew how. He passed away a few years ago, and now this theme song just makes me think of him. 😔
This theme is quintessentially jazzy, with elements of ragtime and even dixieland.
As for jazz covers, insaneintherainmusic probably did the best cover I’ve heard
Been watching Thomas the Tank Engine with my boy this summer. The music goes far harder than it needs to. However, I will say that good compositions tend to not annoy parents, so I think it's more for the sanity of the parents than it is for the education or entertainment of the kids.
Better to expose kids to good music early, so that they know what crap is when they hear it later...
i grew up watching the show and the theme song is one of my earliest musical memories, it definitely stuck with me much more than a ton of more low-effort theme songs from other shows i watched as a kid. The cream will rise to the top!
I was so surprised at how much the theme song has changed over the years. Its had like....over 5 different versions with even more animation variations
Someone else here commented that in an interview one of the composers stated that they believe that it’s important to write genuinely good music for children’s shows because children have a greater appreciation for complexity in music than most people give them credit for
The sanity of the parents is an important consideration when the episodes are only 5 minutes long and the opening and closing credits have the same tune, so if binging you will be listening to the theme song 20+ times per hour...
I’VE BEEN SAYING THIS FOR YEARS…and the other classic themes are masterpieces too, especially Henry’s flying kipper theme!
Absolutely! Thomas was my first introduction to different characters having their own themes long before I discovered film scores. There's even a brilliant double theme between the Thomas main theme and what I think of as the "breakdown train" theme in "Thomas Goes Fishing"
When you have extremely talented composers that take their work seriously, you get masterpieces like this song. This is the reason why a lot of classic theme songs are still used today 👌
The thing this it should be insane. With ringo star as the main narrator. It’s almost certain you had Paul macarney helping with it as well. Thomas’s theme song is almost certainly the final pure collab of the Beatles. I’m almost certain George Harrison (who I’m not sure if he was actually alive when this was written but if not he was defo speaking through spirit). And John Lennon phasing through time to help on one of his past acid trips. And because I’ve said this on the internet it’s now factual 100%.
This is a really nice analysis, but just to add to it a bit - First, the connection with "Mean Mr. Mustard" has everything to do with the way the key center slides up and down at the same time as these almost totally chromatic ascending/descending figures are going back and forth, almost to the point where the song comes off like an exact musical representation of how the title character probably lopes drunkenly down the street. "TTTE", for its part, aims for and achieves a smoother, more relaxed version of this feel, with the frequent key changes arguably being an intentional representation of how much variety a happy sentient train would get to experience on a journey - fields, rivers, towns, villages, all kinds of weather, you name it, Thomas & Friends have glided along at a consistent pace right through it. Second, the very start of the melody of "TTTE" is pretty blatanly borrowed from an ACTUAL jazz standard about a train, that being "Take The 'A' Train". (This cover that finally synthesizes the two songs makes the connection pretty much impossible to ever miss again once heard: th-cam.com/video/YYob4uDjEKI/w-d-xo.html) And third, that diminished scale at the end strikes me as being very likely a reference/homage to Scott Joplin's "The Maple Leaf Rag" and/or "The Entertainer", both of which are immensely famous and have musical elements that heavily overlap with each other as well as "TTTE". I'm sure there's more to say, but that's what hits me the most clearly.
It always fascinates me how when you watch musical breakdowns like this that you'll often be reminded of other pieces. This time, the walkdown highlighted at 7:06 instantly put me in mind of the walkdown leading into the chorus of "I Can't Stop Loving You" by Leo Sayer.
I HIGHLY recommend looking at other tracks from the series. This series is legendary for its vocal talent, score, set and model design. Top tier entertainment. Really deserves a second look. The flying kipper theme is amazing! And the James theme has been covered like crazy.
Devious diesel theme hits hard too, no joke!
Yes!
Devious Diesel's Theme always stands out in my mind, like even as a kid you can just feel the oily sleaze in the notes which embodies the character.
The Viaduct theme slaps hard; always puts the audience in the moment.
Henry/The flying Kipper theme never fails to feel epic, grand triumphant.
The watermill theme is beautiful.
While James' jazz theme is up there, I have to give my #1 spot to Percy's S3 theme. Bursting with energy; and also my goto to show how the show evolved and grew compared to other shows.
Percys theme reflects that really well; I've always said Thomas is the MC but Percy has the most evolution.
His theme from s1-5 reflects his character growth
@@DrFrankenolly it's basically summertime
An added point is that the downbeat arguably pops more through the tune than the main beat. Largely due to the left hand effectively being a rag-time riff. - I agree hugely though that it's the unresolved aspects that really make this appealing. It almost has a jazz quality to it.
NGL either, I've always had a bizarre fascination with the bridge chord progression. It just works SO well.
I liked how the bridge of the tune is when Thomas goes over the bridge.
In my opinion Thomas the tank engine was and I mean ‘was’ the greatest kids show ever. 1. Because the models on the classic sets that trick you into thinking it’s real. 2. As mentioned the amazing soundtrack and 3. The feel that it wasn’t just a kid show with the darker themes like scraping engines.
This will be my favourite show forever sad what Mattel did to it in 2018
After this and The Transformers, I'd love to see you look at other theme songs, like Ducktales, Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers, Darkwing Duck, M.A.S.K., GI JOE, Jonny Quest, The Racoons, GEM, and probably a hundred more that I didn't mention.
GEM theme song went hard! EMO too :D
The Disney themes were all great. Plus Duckula, A-Team, Airwolf, TMNT…
DuckTales theme is great.
The popular opinion is that the original is better than the remake, and I have to agree that the brass just gives such awesome energy. But I think I prefer the overall makeup of the remake.
I've heard the remake, and indeed both my son and my ex-wife enjoy the new series, but I can't bring it to mine at all. The classic theme, though, is one of those I can always hear in my head. :-)
If it hasn't been covered already, the batman animated series intro goes pretty hard
I think this represents perfectly the concept: people just wanna make good music they just get hired in things like this
Oh Mike and Junior weren’t the only passionate people on classic Thomas. The first 5 seasons are absolutely stunning in terms of models and filming, on top of the score. Every single theme in those early seasons goes just as hard. The stories were pretty good too back then. They stuck pretty close to the original books, which themselves were a really grounded love-letter to railways that didn’t speak down to kids. Unfortunately that magic has been lost to time…
Not everyone treat children's stuff as just put out whatever crap you can, nobody cares. So they hire people who care and do good work.
@@rudyproductions4557 I'm very happy to hear that, if I ever have to raise a kid I'll have this in mind
@@tylisirn for sure, there's a reason why a lot of people are surprised when children's media is good
Wdym things like 'this'
I used to watch this with my kids. I always thought that tune very sophisticated for a kid's show.
There’s a reason everyone remembers this song, and it’s because it’s so great
This and the theme from Duck Tales had much more effort put into them than was strictly necessary, and the world is a better place for it.
I disagree
I really appreciate you getting the Duck Tales theme song stuck in my head now. I've been rocking the Street Sharks and Biker Mice from Mars themes lately. On a kick.
@Uri Urofferson I am just stating my opinion
And of course 'Run with Us' from The Raccoons.
@@TheSilliestGoose655 That's okay. You can disagree. But you are wrong. We're all wrong about some things. This is one of yours.😘
I love that after the B section, during the bridge, the clip they show is Thomas driving over, you guessed it, a bridge
Also for all the people in the comments asking for a full cover of the Thomas theme, Insaneintherainmusic has a brilliant cover of this on his channel, check it out!
I love how tickled and delighted he is! I had it on my someday/maybe list to sit at a piano and analyze this theme; glad this guy took care of that for me. I loved the Ringo narration series and always thought the theme had a late Beatles vibe, and this all now makes more sense. Thanks for the magical musical tour through the Island of Sodor! 🛤🚂🎶
Woooow, now that it's been mentioned, that totally IS George Carlin! No tricks, that's seriously the voice I remember as a kid
I'm American but watched the British one with Ringo Starr.
After George Carlin was Alec Baldwin
@@goimeiAlec took a shot, then shot someone
@@phillyskyguy9535shots fired
Fired the armorer too 😊
Carlos from insaneintherain made a jazz cover of this a few years ago and I remember being blown away by the fact that it sounded quite legit, and wasn't just a meme
Also his goods friends The Consouls would jam to it on request streams and may or may not have played it at live gigs too!
Charles: "man, this sounds like it could totally be a jazz standard!"
Insaneintherainmusic: *HOLD MY SAXOPHONE*
Which one?
@@jazzy_jake Insaneintherainmusic did a sick cover of the Thomas the Tank Engine Theme as a Bebop tune!
I was obsessed with Thomas as a kid, and as I grew out of the show, I never grew out of this song. It's so cool to see that people still appreciate the music
The show's great too. A lovely comfort watch, very cute.
The theme is very interesting as it travels around keys like a train circumnavigating the island of Sodor on the main line. I’m sure that was intended by the creators.
Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell didn't hold back in their compositions, I still remember these themes to this day
6:48 - "The Bridge" Thomas goes over a bridge at that point in the title sequence ;)
It's a great jazz meme to quote this theme on the A section of Take the A Train. Changes match perfectly.
The other thing that gave it the charm was the instrument they used, the Roland Jupiter 6, as the antiquated steam engines accompanied by such a harmonic note couldn’t have been cheap to get an actual band to perform, so managing to pull off a hummable and memorable soundtrack like this gave it a budgeted feel, which with the music and rather upbeat nature of the stories made it feel homey, like an actual place you can easily settle into if the Isle of Sodor was real, an austerity feel to everything, from the bustling yards and trains in and out of the station with a chipper tune in the background felt busy, and endearing. That’s why I think the soundtrack defined how the show felt from seasons 1-4
Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell made absolutely beautiful themes for Thomas. Every engine, major location, and serious scenes have their own themes that make it so iconic. O'Donnell has actually been remaking and releasing the themes that you can purchase on his website. They're a great listen!
The Toby theme makes me weep uncontrollably and sends me down a nostalgia spiral that usually ends with the Kinks' "Do You Remember Walter?"
@@smurfthumper that’s very strangely specific but i relate massively 😂😭
Legomastr 365…. I remember that name
Please Please Please do a full Jazz Standard Cover of this theme! I would listen to it on repeat!
Those guys who did TTTEs theme also did a sister show called Tugs, that theme is pretty amazing too
Please do a full version of this ‘as a standard’ that’s awesome!
it has a weird sorta Ellington vibe going on, I never really noticed how cool this theme was when I watched this as a kid but now I know why it hit so hard lol
Both this song & Take the A Train (popularized by Ellington) have that distinct interval from E down to G# in the beginning of their melodies as well
same, as a kid i was obsessed with this show and song and now i get why
My mind went to Gershwin as Charles broke it down, but yeah I can feel the Ellington vibe, too!
@@james_subosits not only that, the first 4 bars of the A sections are basically the same harmonically. Only difference is D7b5 instead of Ab7 which is basically the same chord with a different root
@@RyJohnsonMusic, came here to see if someone said this in the comments. Thanks!
if this video doesn't mention that first ascending phrase of the theme also being the chorus bass run in elliott smith's "between the bars" I am going to be sorely disappointed
Didn’t expect you to be here but it’s a welcomed surprise
Ayo wtf? Wasn’t expecting MrRoflWaffles here
Thx again for the fire bow tutorial big man helped me out way back when haha
Why is mrroflwaffles watching a breakdown of the ttte theme? Is this a dream?
Thanks for the input MrRoflWaffles
6:30 you seem to miss out the fact that they actually go to a minor key there as oppose to the dropping major all the way down the first time.
God how I loved this show. I was obsessed as a toddler and it always held a special place in my heart. Now so even more as I realized how brilliant it really was musically and as a piece of music. Nice observation and blast from the past man.
Thomas has hands down some of the best music in TV. Each engine had their own theme music. Runaway trains feel intense because of the music alone. I hope you go even more in depth with this shows music in the future.
You always seem like you are having the time of your life, no matter what topic you're discussing. You're definitely one of my favorite subscriptions 😊
Try checking out the 'Tugs' theme, it was created by the exact two compossers that made Thomas's theme (Mike O'Donnell and Junior Cambell) but it has a completely different feel to it and is an absolute joy to listen to, keep up the good work btw!
I was gonna say its always sounded Beatley to me, didnt know it was actually written by a guy who worked with them though! And obviously Ringo narrating, really came full circle
The meme culture for this music is so iconic
We never got George C after Ringo in the OG UK version - most of our Thomas content was a fella called Michael Angelis. He had a very similar timbre to Ringo so as kids we never really noticed the difference. Thomas was absolutely huge for elder UK millennials (I'm born in 85) and the theme tune was iconic even before it became the meme tune.
Aussie kid here. We got the UK narrators as well. 😎
Here in the US, surprisingly, as well. At least on the DVDs.
Shining Time Station is the American version (Ringo followed by George Carlin as the conductor, also starring Didi Conn from Grease), and the theme was different. I actually love both themes, the original UK version and the early 90's American version.
Had a mix or George C and Ringo in the U.S.
loved Ringo.
I loved michael, i grew up in the 00's and had nothing but michael and was absolutely obessed with the show.
I love how you get me so excited for songs of my childhood but for a completely different reason, thank you for your passion!
I love watching you break down these songs that i never would've thought to break down. Ab to C is a harmony i wouldn't have thought to do myself but it worked major props to whoever wrote the Thomas theme
Additional info: one of the composers of the thomas theme, was already an established songwriter by the time he wrote the theme. He was in a band in the 60s called Marmalade and had some really legendary songs....
I have always heard this as a ragtime piano with a form of skiffle drum beat. This is why it has the odd key changes that still flow in a great manner. Those 2 musical forms together also create a rhythm that can slide under a ton of different musical styles.
Yeah!!! And that diminished chord wind down screams rag
@@john_demartini Most of the piano parts are straight from ragtime marches. Especially the trilling notes, or whatever that is called on piano.
And ragtime was popular during the peak of the age of steam. I remember as a kid the style of the theme feeling appropriate to the show, without really knowing why.
And when you've got Ringo Starr loitering around, the pressure is on to impress.
@@brianspenst1374 they're called trills alright, octave trills for the ones that alternate your left-right hand playing the same things but in a different octave, or using the thumb and pinky stretched out on a single hand, to play the same single note on 2 octaves alternated with a wrist tilting movement keeping those fingers stretched, rather than moving the fingers or using a wrist downward motion, that tilting motion with the wrist being the center of gravity is quintessentially honky-tonk ;)
i mean, if you "trill" chords outlining them staccato, aren't they really just very quick arpeggios?
where does one draw the line at what is a trill ?
semitone hammeron/pulloff combos on stringed instruments are trills or any interval for that matter, so i'm going to have to assume trills are strictly alternating 2 notes really quickly, hell maybe even chords, regardless of interval, but any complexity beyond alternating exactly 2 hits of the 2 notes or chords in the repeated pattern is technically just a really goddamn fast arpeggio, right? :P
@@dutchdykefinger who knows but I’m in good company on this one haha
One likely reason why the pitch is off is because it's produced in 25 fps and adapted to 24 fps. By slowing the show down, the pitch is lowered by about ¾ semitones or 72 cents.
2:59 You can even hear the syllables in the theme sort of, it fits when you say "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends."
Most of the songs in the series involve the chuffing noise. It really is a credit to the composers the amount of thought out into. I find myself listening to a lot of the different songs when I’m feeling nostalgic
After watching Thomas, we can't help but wonder why people would take any mode of transport that isn't a train. While I took a Boeing 747 to Singapore in 2018, I went by train to Beijing, Hanoi, and Vladivostok to see Xi Jinping, my second meeting with Trump, and Vladimir Putin respectively. Trains get the job done, leave you right in the middle of town without having to find extra transport from the airport, and you see so much more scenery
I bet your citizens would love to take a train through a countryside wouldn’t they
Based comment
Based dear leader moment
I had to read this twice
ignoring the fact that this is a joke from a gimmick account;
train good, car bad
The old Shining Time Station show with Carlin and Starr was my childhood. I LOVED trains as a kid. We couldn’t actually pick up the show where we lived in Alaska, so my grandparents down in California would record a bunch of them and then mail us videocassettes.
A lot of TV music in the UK was a lot more technically complex than you'd expect, given than it was only supposed to be on screen for 30 seconds whilst the titles rolled. Look at the music for shows like "To the Manor born" or "Yes, Minister". Or - one of my favorites - "supergran" or "Have I got news for you" - which goes harder than TV themes really should!
This theme always reminds me of Take the A-train by Ellington, probably due to the chords’ succession, which is quite a coincidence cause Thomas is actually a train !!
*Actually A train :-)
Good connection! Strong enough that I now think it's how the TTTE theme was conceived: let's do a kid friendly souza march version of a-train
oh wow you're so right. that has to have been an intentional reference by the writers it's too perfect
Phish used to cover Take the A Train in the early days. You should check it out.
@@jde824 Waw that’s so nice ! I know that insaneintherain has done an interpretation of TTTE too, and in the bigband way so that’s pretty nice either !
Always knew that theme song slapped for a reason as a kid.
Bro and I would get DOWN to that.
Also: love how that double-time part matches the tempo of “chugs” made by a moving train engine. Really went all in with the train theme throughout the song.
I still remember it from the 80's, when, on TV Ontario (a PBS like channel in Canada) they sometimes had it between shows (because some of the shows they had, especially from the UK and Europe, weren't the traditional half hour length, and of course, no commercials) I liked it. The narrator/"Mr Conductor" (he only got that name for Shining Time Station in 1989) was only replaced by George Carlin for Shining Time Station in North America, Michael Angelis was Starr's replacement for the UK version (but he eventually replaced George Carlin).
A couple of random facts: Rev. Awdry did come up with some original stories for the series. Because of contractual technicalities, he actually wrote a couple of books just so they could be used for the show. Also, the musical "Starlight Express" by Andrew Lloyd Weber was supposed to be based on the Thomas and Friends series, but Rev. Awdry denied him permission.
I'm 40 and I grew up watching Thomas as a very young child. I have hinestly ot smiled more during a youtube video because I have always LOVED the theme tune but couldn't have ever possibly have explained why. This video is the very definition of why TH-cam exists!
The melody synth noodling in the bridge kills me stone dead every time 💀❤️🤯
Thomas the Tank Engine has so much good music. One song that I've always loved from that show in specific was "Accidents Will Happen" (original 1999 version) which also has a bit of some complex harmony.
I have never forgotten accidents will happen, I have so much nostalgia for Thomas.
Never in my life would I think GroovyDominoes52 would say this. Wow.
Wow goovy the developer of npcs are becoming smart wow crazy
@@a_midland_engine strange
@@Elias-um4yo oh I know you.
Did you know that the man who created the original models for the TV series was Tim Staffell? He is a bass guitarist and singer. His first band was with Brian May and Roger Taylor, and they played as Smile. Tim Staffell left Smile in 1970, and Farrokh Bulsara took over, changed his name to Freddie Mercury, and they became Queen. I always thought Henry looked like John Deacon from Queen and I once asked Tim if that was deliberate, and he said it was just coincidence!
I mean, they were going off illustrations that were already part of the public consciousness for 40 years, they had some leeway and made use of it but they didn't have enough to be that radical with it.
@@BringMayFlowers You know I kind of forget that the books existed before the TV show and yet I think I have or had one of the books as a child.
The other thing is the musical imagery of the music. Not just is the prominent steam engine percussion there, but much of the musical variation mimics the variable rattles and vibrations of a carriage of the steam eras. As the music plays, you can almost feel the seat under you rattling as you pass over a steel girder section, or a concrete overpass, where the rolling stock will have that distinct rattle from their normal clackety clack on the ballast sections. You also hear the same rise and fall as you do in classical music (especially opera and ballet) regarding hills, rises and depressions. Coupled with the recorded motion of the introduction videography, it allows the listener (whether a toddler, an adult or a geriatric) to be immersed in a virtual railroad experience with Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends. When you compare the complexity and beauty of this music to the rubbish of the modern iterations, we have just lost so much. The Thomas the Tank Engine theme is up there as one of the musical greats, with that musical imagery fit to complete with classics such as the William Tell Overture or the Hall of the Mountain King.
I always thought this was a nod to Ellington's Take the A Train. Same progression except the II7 (D7) was the tritone Ab7. Of course, then it goes in a different direction but still a pretty cool train reference. Thanks for all the good work and great vids!
very much agreed please push this comment to the top
ab7/d is basically d7b5b9
Agreed. I was looking around the comments to see if someone already posted that. Even the melodies are clearly related : the only difference is that one uses a diatonic walk up between the G and the E (Thomas) and the other uses a C major arpeggio (Take the A Train). But besides that both go from G to E, then jump down to G#/Ab and stay there for a whole bar before finally resolving up to A
@@nathanaelfelix8976 yea both melody and harmony are related lol, idk if charles didnt realize or realized but just didnt mention
@@nathanaelfelix8976 Right! Even the "Intro" in Ab is reminiscent of the whole tone piano riff in A Train
I had never seen an episode Thomas the Tank Engine, but when I heard it I instantly thought of Duke Ellingtons "Take the A Train" - the melody, the compositional style. Ellingtons compositions , at least to my novice ears, have that "all over the place" tendency you refer to. Then I realized that both compositions are thematically about trains, so that makes me wonder if "take the A train" wasn't a reference for the Thomas the Tank Engine Theme. Just a thought.
Interesting
YES ! Both pieces feature the same chord progression of I bVI7 IIm7 V7
That's not just you, there's clearly inspiration if not direct homage.
You should watch the model era its good
I think that reference comes from the melody - they have that same distinctive descending interval at the end of the phrase, from the E to the Ab. Both tunes start on a C chord, with the melody on the E, and then the Ab/G# lands on a D7(#11) in A Train, and the Ab7 in the Thomas theme.
And in writing that I just noticed - the Ab7 and D7 are tritone substitutions of each other, meaning the chords themselves have a very similar character, so you'd probably recognise the similarity even with a different melody note.
Good spotting. :) Whether intentionally composed that way or not, an awesome little bit of music theory trivia. :)
I'm so happy you call him Thomas the Tank Engine, and not Thomas the 'train', he's not a train.