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This article is about the original song. You may be looking for the book or the rap song.

The Engine Roll Call, or simply Roll Call, or Roll Call Song in Korea. is a song dedicated to the Steam Team and featured at the end of every episode before the end credits from the eighth 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). The tune is loosely based on the fifth series song It's Great to Be an Engine.

In 2015, Steve D'Angelo and Terry Tompkins re-arranged the theme for the nineteenth to twenty-first series.

In 2018, Imaginigami composed the twenty-second to twenty-fourth series version (this time now featured only 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 to twenty-fourth series. An alternate rock 'n' roll version is also made.

In 2021, an instrumental lullaby version was created for the digital album, Lullabies.

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)

Series 22-24 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)

Calling All Engines! 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.
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 10!
(chorus)

The Great Discovery 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 Edward puffs.
Stanley, he's the new one there,
Toby, well, let's say, he's square.
(chorus)

A Day at the Races 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.
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.

Thomas Saves the Day 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 Mrs. Martin: The festival was almost through,
But saved 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.

Characters

Locations

Footage Used

Deleted and Extended Scenes

  • Emily's New Coaches - A deleted scene of Emily passing a field.
  • What's the Matter with Henry? - An alternate angle shot of Henry going under a pipe.
  • Toby's Windmill - An extended shot of Toby about to push the trucks of flour.
  • 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.
  • James Gets a New Coat - A deleted scene of James puffing through the countryside.
  • You Can Do it, Toby! - A deleted scene of Toby and Henrietta passing Black Loch.

Trivia

  • The first version of the song was in a rhythm-and-blues style, and the second one was redone in a rock-pop style.
  • The song's music video has been redone six 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 to twenty-fourth series.
  • The twelfth series version is the only song released in said series.
  • The instrumental version of the Series 8-18 were heard when the Thomas balloon was shown in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
  • The twenty-second series 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 but" with "she's new and".
    • Toby was kept in the line-up to retain eight 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 was changed on the twelfth series version on full-screen.
  • The lyrics of the song were incorporated into the intro sequence starting the eleventh series, however, in the thirteenth to eighteenth series version, the whistle is removed.
  • In All Aboard with the Steam Team, Steamies vs Diesels and other DVDs and TV airings with ninth and tenth series episodes, there are yellow and blue linings when they show the engines and in DVDs and TV airings with eighth series episodes and The Great Discovery, there are no yellow and blue linings.
  • On the DVD, Railway Friends, the song is low pitched.
  • The song was never dubbed into Norwegian for the series until the thirteenth series. Dubbed versions of the songs in Calling All Engines! and The Great Discovery exist 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.
  • Some airings of the twenty-second series feature Henry when the final "green" is said while others feature Samson.
  • The song is left in English in the Cantonese, Chinese Mandarin (Series 8-19), Czech (intro in Series 11-12, outro in Series 8-17), Hungarian (intro in Series 11, outro in Series 8-16), Malay, Romanian (intro in Series 11, outro in Series 8-17 and early airings of Series 18), Taiwanese Mandarin and Turkish (initial airings of the intro and outro until Series 18) dubs.
  • The Calling All Engines! version of the song is left in English in the Czech and Hungarian dubs.
  • In the Russian (Series 10-11 only) Persian and Kannada dubs, the song is played in instrumental.
  • In the Greek, Russian and Indonesian dubs, the Calling All Engines! version of the song is played in instrumental.
  • There is an instrumental of the extended version on the Chinese DVD, Sing-a-Long 4.
  • This is the only song from the eighth series that was dubbed into Japanese while none of the other songs got localized for unknown reasons.
  • The first and last verses are the same in South Korea.
  • The eighth to tenth series version is the last song to use footage directed by David Mitton
  • This song has the most variants with 20 variants and versions.
  • In the Polish dub, it is said that Thomas is "very bold".
  • In the Polish dub, it is said that Gordon is "fast like the wind".
  • In the thirteenth to eighteenth series, an extra whistle sound is heard at the end of the song.
  • In the fourteenth to eighteenth series short version, the latter part from the railway tracks moving from Hero of the Rails was plastered over the clip of Thomas' whistle budging up from Double Trouble.
  • The fourteenth to eighteenth series music video of the song is used in the most series than any other one.

Goofs

  • In the German and Swedish dubs of The Great Discovery version, the lyrics say Edward when Stanley is shown.
  • In the Polish dub, the colours that are said are not the ones shown on screen. This is fixed in The Great Discovery dub.
  • In the Polish dub, it is said that Percy "races across the world with the mail", despite he only delivers the mail to the Island of Sodor.
  • In the Polish dub, it is said that Henry pants "oh" and "ah".
  • In the main Russian dub, it was said that Toby is "their elder brother", which is incorrect as he is not the brother of any of the engines.
  • In the Norwegian dub, 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 dub, it was said that James is "usually annoyed."
  • In the Korean dub, it was said that Henry is "always brave", despite he is not usually brave.
  • In the European Spanish and Catalan dubs, it is said that there are ten members of the Steam Team, which is false.
  • In the second Hebrew and Lithuanian dubs, the Steam Team is said to have only six members, rather than eight.
  • In the Bosnian and Turkish dubs, one of the colours mentioned is yellow, which is a colour none of the members carry mainly.
  • In the Lithuanian dub, one of the colours mentioned is black, which is a colour none of the members carry mainly.
  • In the Scottish Gaelic dub, one of the colours mentioned is grey, which is a colour none of the members carry mainly.
  • In the eighth through the tenth series, Emily's eyes are wonky.
  • In the extended version of the eleventh series music video, one scene of Percy is reversed as smoke can be seen going back into his funnel.
  • In the extended version of the nineteenth series music video, the sound effect for Henry's whistle is out of place. The sound is also still intact in the twenty-second series version.
  • In the Swedish dub of the fourteenth series TV 4 airings, some of the lyrics shown on screen do not match what the singers say.
  • The Swedish dub of the thirteenth series music video uses the Calling All Engines! version of the song.
  • In the Arabic dub of the tenth to eleventh series, Thai eleventh series and Hungarian seventeenth series versions of the song say Stanley when Edward is shown. This was corrected in the twelfth series for the Thai dub, the thirteenth series for the Arabic dub and the eighteenth series for the Hungarian dub.
    • The Hungarian eighteenth series dub of the song says Edward twice. This was corrected in the nineteenth series version.
  • In the JimJam version of the European Portuguese dub of the fourteenth to eighteenth series, Edward and Henry's lines are swapped.
  • The Croatian dub of the seventeenth series states that there are only four members of the Steam Team instead of eight and uses the English names for the engines (including Thomas, who is usually called Tomica in the dub).
  • In the Brazilian Portuguese dub of the CGI series, the verses "Red and green and brown and blue" and "Shunting trucks and hauling freight" are swapped.
  • In the Latin American Spanish dub of the twenty-second to twenty-fourt series, the colour orange is not heard.

In Other Languages

Language Title
Brazilian Portuguese O Tema de Abertura/Modificado
São Dois, São Quatro, São Seis, São Oito
Czech Vagónky posunují (Series 13-17; Barrandov version)
Mají až osm dvojkolí (Series 13-17; Minimax version)
Jsou dva a tři a ještě víc (Series 18-20)
Lokomotiv osmička (Series 22)
Danish Der' fire seks der' otte tog
Dutch Het Zijn Er Wel een Stuk of Acht
Finnish On Vetureita Kahdeksan
French La Vie nous sourit
German Zu zweit, zu viert, zu sechst, zu acht
Hebrew מסדר הקטרים
Hungarian Mozdonyok
Indonesian Panggilan Bergilir
Italian Veloce Vanno e Fan Ciuf-Ciuf
Ma Che Allegra Ferrovia
Japanese きかんしゃトーマスのテーマ2
Korean 토마스와 친구들 주제가 (DVD)
토마스와 친구들 테마
토마스와 친구들 테마곡
토마스와 친구들 테마 송 (DVD)
토마스와 친구들 주제곡 (YouTube)
토마스와 친구들 (Live show/CD)
Latin American Spanish La Ronda de Nombres
¿Cuántos Son? (eighth to twelfth series)
Dos, Cuatro, Seis y Ocho Son (thirteenth series onwards)
Norwegian Roll Call
Polish Przyjaciół Przedstawiamy Wam
Portuguese Oito Locomotivas Engraçadas (eighth to eleventh series)
Locomotivas Engraçadas (thirteenth series onwards)
Russian Локомотивная перекличка
Spanish Hay Dos, Hay Cuatro, Hay Seis, Hay Diez
Welsh Galwad Rholio Locomotif

CDs

Music Videos


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