Yep, that many.
Thomas the Tank Engine is no stranger to awesome tunes. So much so that they even give you the lyrics so you can sing along!
Production Music
- The original main theme
by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell is a jaunty tune that combines synthesizers, a honky tonk piano, and various train-like sounds (including a beat that sounds like a train chugging) to create what many consider to be one of the catchiest and best TV show themes of all time. The fact that many fans and outsiders still consider it to be the theme of the franchise despite it not being used since 2003note is a true testament to how memorable and iconic it is. Among the highlights is the deft Modulation ten seconds in, with a pitch of G pivoting from the dominant of C major to the leading tone of A-flat major. "Thomas and the Trucks" features a unique fast-paced jazz rendition of the main theme, which makes an already jaunty main theme even more energetic, perfectly reflecting Thomas' initial excitement at pulling Edward's train...before it near-seamlessly transitions to a comical runaway theme after things go awry thanks to the Troublesome Trucks. - Thomas' branchline theme sets the mood of Thomas happily pulling Annie and Clarabel along the track.
- Donald and Douglas' theme carries awe-inspiring Scottish music, fitting for the twin engines' origin country.
- The Post Train Theme is a calming and determined theme which vividly depicts a train's night shift, especially when doing mail delivery.
- The music played when Douglas rescues Oliver from the scrap yard, which turns Oliver's theme tune (a mixture of the music from The Great Escape and the Indiana Jones films) up to eleven.
- The Storm Theme from "Percy's Promise" and "Gallant Old Engine". Both episodes feature a Moment of Awesome.
- Edward's original theme, particularly the version used in "Cows" and "Edward's Exploit", the latter of which has one of Edward's Moments of Awesome.
- Gordon's Season 1 theme, a grand piece for whenever the proud engine thunders down the line with the Express. Special props to this orchestral fan cover which cranks the epicness up to eleven, turning into a theme worthy of Alan Silvestri.
- James' old theme is an fun, jazzy and splendid piece befitting the really splendid engine. Extra props to the vocal version of the theme.
- The triumphant rendition of Henry's theme that's played as he pulls the Flying Kipper along the line shows just how grand of an engine Henry can be when allowed to run to the best of his ability. The season 4 remix also counts, as brief as it is.
- Harold's theme embodies the sense of flying in a helicopter with its free sounding instrumentation.
- Percy's original theme is a bouncy and playful piece that suits Percy's youthful and cheeky nature perfectly. Similarly, the crash theme may be tense, but it's pretty awesome too.
- The Skarloey Railway theme sets the pleasant tone of the Narrow Gauge engines working hard and chuffing through the country with their trains.
- The Race theme from "Percy and Harold" is a tense and fun piece packing in fast, cheeky instrumentation to emphasise the thrill of rail and air racing.
- Bertie's theme, plus its triumphant remix is a lively number with a tune fitting with the little bus' attitude and motivations to race Thomas.
- Terence's theme nails this tractor's slow-paced but hardworking approach to work as he helps out Thomas when he gets stuck in the snow, with hard but cheery instrumentation.
- The Workers Theme from "The Sad Story of Henry" packs in catchy percussion to simulate the workers walling up Henry.
- The "Runaway Engine" theme. When this song plays, you know things have just gone pear shaped! This remix with the William Tell overture was used in Seasons 5 and 6 for some of the more intense runaways like "Busy Going Backwards" and "Thomas and the Jet Engine". The theme notably makes a orchestrated comeback, combined with a tense remix of Thomas' theme in The Adventure Begins and it's just as, if not even more, intense than the original.
- The Flood theme from "Toby and the Flood", more specifically the point from when Toby meets Percy at the bridge over a surging river and when the leaking dam finally bursts. The intensity of the music leaves the viewer on the edge of their seat and wondering if Toby will make it out in one piece.
- The "Repairs" theme sets tone and atmosphere well, especially when used at the beginning of an episode.
- Diesel's theme is delightfully sinister yet smooth at the same time, playing appropriately during Diesel's introduction. Season 3 onwards would use other renditions of his theme, but the sinister feeling was toned down.
- Sir Topham Hatt's theme sets the mood perfectly for when the man in charge of everything makes the scene, and makes you instantly think "well, it's official—[insert character here] is screwed."
- The theme from Misty Island Rescue, which has a Pirates of the Caribbean feel to it.
- While not technically part of the show's soundtrack, the Vanity Plate for Britt Allcroft Productions is sure to bring back nostalgia for anyone who grew up with the show.
- Any time the production team's rendition of Eye of the Tiger plays. Mostly counts as a Funny Moment.
- While not part of the show itself, in 2019 and 2020, one of the original composers, Mike O'Donnell, created new rearrangements of the original theme and much of the production music (including one that was unused for the show proper), and they're not only nostalgic, but also great modernizations of the original music.
Sing-Along Songs
- "Thomas You're The Leader" from "The Great Discovery". The first song to feature a proper singer which packs in rapping and a lovely chorus.
- "Really Useful Engine" and its variant from "The Adventure Begins" showcase how amazing and useful our Number One Engine Thomas is in a joyful, victorious theme.
- "Gone Fishing" is a swinging, relaxing tune to let off steam with a laid-back melody and instrumentation.
- "Let's Have a Race" is an energetic, fast-paced retelling of Thomas and Bertie's race in song.
- "Never Never Never Give Up" is a catchy tune to encourage listeners to keep pushing onward to the end, just like all the other engines on Sodor.
- "Percy's Seaside Trip" is a remix of Percy's original theme, which packs in a sunny mood in its lyrics and music in anticipation for a trip to the seaside.
- "Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover" is a remix of Terence's theme, recapping the first time Thomas met Terence and how the latter eventually helped the tank engine.
- "Go Go Thomas!" from "Hero of the Rails" is a rocking song paying tribute to Thomas as he and his team try to help out Hiro.
- "The Island Song" is a truly beautiful song celebrating imagination.
- "Accidents Will Happen" is an upbeat song about the many crashes that's happened on the series. And it is awesome.
- "Toby" recaps the events of "Toby the Tram Engine" and "Thomas Breaks the Rules" in the form of a song.
- "Boo Boo Choo Choo!" brings in a creepy, yet jaunty tune about Sodor's scariest things. If this doesn't stick to your head for days, the owl's startling appearances probably will.
- "Never Overlook a Little Engine from Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure is basically a bouncier version of "Really Useful Engine" in composition, but the music video also has some... interesting visuals.
- "We Make A Team Together" is an uplifting theme emphasising on teamwork and friendship to get harder jobs done quickly, such as finding Sodor's lost treasure or building a new railway line.
- "Rules and Regulations is a catchy song about following the rules (which is a very common moral in this show). The cool thing about it is that the song went without a music video for the longest time. The song was only available on an audiobook called "Thomas and the Best-kept Station Competition", and later on the CD "Thomas' Train Yard Tracks". That is until early 2016, when they decided to finally put a video together.
- "Troublesome Trucks" is a song about the titular side characters. While the original is nothing to write home about, as it's only very loosely based off "Pop Goes the Diesel", the variant from The Adventure Begins ups the tempo, and has catchier vocals, this time based off "Thomas and the Trucks".
- "That's What Friends Are For" is a truly beautiful song about friendship, which rivals "The Island Song" in composition. This song was also given a similar treatment to "Rules and Regulations", as it was also only available in audiobooks, and wasn't given a music video until 2016.
- "The Work Song", the theme song of sorts for Jack and the Sodor Construction Crew, which nails how hardworking Jack and his crew are in song.
- "Monsters Everywhere" from Tale of the Brave, reeking of spookiness in its music, a fitting piece for a nightmarish song. It also got a lovely instrumental version in the opening.
- "Down By the Docks" is an upbeat song about Brendam Docks and the characters that work there. It's even got a matching style to boot. The song also got a short rearrangment in "No Help At All", done by the same composer who did the arrangements of "Really Useful Engine" and "Troublesome Trucks" for The Adventure Begins.
- "James, the Really Splendid Engine" is based on his theme, which is packed with bombastic brass and a groovy melody. It perfectly describes how proud (and kind of vain) this splendid engine is.
- While Thomas' Anthem is very easy to confuse for "Really Useful Engine", it's an awesome song nonetheless. It's also one of the only times in the US dub that "The Fat Controller" is used instead of "Sir Topham Hatt". It's especially awesome in the Japanese dub.
- Night Train, a beautiful song about the engines working night shifts, based on the post train theme.
- H Is For Harold, a very gentle song dedicated to praising Harold the Helicopter.
- The replacement for the original theme, Engine Roll Call, while not nearly as iconic and beloved as the original theme, is just as much of an upbeat, jaunty and catchy track as its predecessor was. The rearranged version used between season 19 to 21 is also pretty catchy.
- The Snow Song is beautifully composed and sung, and it invokes a warm and fuzzy feeling, perfect for the winter season.
In-Episode Songs
- The very first example, "Never Overlook a Little Engine", an upbeat and jaunty song by the Arlesdale Engines as they prove even the smallest of engines can do really big things.
- "Will You Won't You" from "The Great Race" is the intense "I Want" Song of the film as the engines are pleading to go to the Great Railway Show. The crescendo near the end adds up to it.
- "Streamlining", Thomas' first solo, has a very fast rock-and-roll vibe with a hint of "Greased Lightning" to it.
- Gordon's version "The Shooting Star is Coming Through" does the same, giving a similar vibe of rock-and-roll which becomes more worrysome and intense after Gordon bursts his safety valve.
- Diesel's Villain Song, "I'm Full of Surprises", has a hint of Broadway and showtune added to it.
- Thomas and Ashima's duet "You Can Only Be You", an Indian ballad about Thomas just being himself for the Great Railway Show. The Triumphant Reprise "Be Who You Are, And Go Far" features a more celebratory orchestra and ends on an Incredibly Long Note.
- For Journey Beyond Sodor, James' "I Am Great!" Song "Somebody Has to Be the Favorite" is basically him boasting how splendid he is in song form. Not to mention he shows up right when Thomas considers bursting into song.
- "Who's Thomas?", an intense, yet jaunty Patter Song as Beresford refuses to let Thomas pass by unless he gets to know him. The troublesome trucks' dancing and Beresford's off-key high note all add up to it.
- "The Hottest Place in Town", a very fast yet sinister song as Frankie and Hurricane show Thomas around the Steelworks. Many of the lyrics have a Double Meaning as they not only consider the Steelworks "hot" as in "really cool", but also literally note how hot the Steelworks is.
- Thomas' Homesickness Hymn "I Want To Go Home", which starts off as a melancholic ballad but as he becomes more determined, it gains a more powerful orchestral arrangement.
- The Experimental Engines' theme, "We Can't Do Anything", a funny and jaunty melody as they picket that they're not useful because of how strange they look.
- The end finale song, "The Most Important Thing is Being Friends", which serves as a reprise to the movie's opening song as Thomas and James call it even and make up, and Hurricane, Frankie and the Experimental Engines all become a team and work together.
- Big World! Big Adventures! has "Where in the World is Thomas?", an unusually upbeat song about the engines worrying about Thomas' disappearance and wonder where he's gone with lots of Callbacks to previous episodes of the series in the first verse alone.
- "Wake Up", a fast song with a hint of African vibe, as Nia tries to get a grumpy Thomas to enjoy the big world around him.
- Ace's "I Am Great!" Song, "Free and Easy", as he shows how awesome it is to be a free-spirited racer.
- Thomas' Melancholy Musical Number "Sometimes You Make a Friend", the epic power ballad of the movie as he realizes how jerkish he's been to Nia and wishes to apologize.
- "We're Friends", Thomas and Nia's Friendship Song which has a lively tropical theme and shows that Nia is genuinely being nice to Thomas and knows they'll be friends no matter what.
- The last character-performed song in the series is "Don't Stop", featured in two separate sections of "Steam Team to the Rescue". Not only is it very uplifting, the tune is ridiculously catchy, and following its release, fans have been releasing music videos of the song in droves. Because of this, it is considered one of the only saving graces of the Big World! Big Adventures! era.
