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WHO WILL PRAY FOR ME ?
been on a very big slick &. cb kick for the last two weeks so y'know i had to edit them. so i hope you guys like this!!
check me out on tiktok ! same name as here 🫶
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and people will try and tell you they weren't dating
#starlight express#ashley the smoking car#buffy the buffet car#they're the ORIGINAL TRAIN LESBIANS#can't wait until new fans learn about them
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AC/DC is a VERY smart song, one of the reasons it’s my favorite lyrically in the show is that it’s so explicitly about electric trains and has multiple references to super interesting issues/traits with them. This doesn’t go into the broader electricity puns (which are shockingly versatile), just the ones most relevant to trains
“Feel my magnetism”
I’m still trying to figure out if this is an issue with remotely modern electric trains and motors, but I have heard a claim about a turn of the century New York Central S-motor (one of the very first mass produced electric locomotives!) basically “picking up and stealing” some tools left near the track this way and then dropping them when switched off. Basically the whole “pulling in things with magnetism” has at least some real life precedent with trains.
“AC/DC it’s okay by me/ I can switch and change my frequency”
This was perhaps the defining feature of the CC 40100 Electra’s helmet was based on. Due to inconsistent electrification systems (due to early 20th century tech limits) it’s very common to have 2,3, even 4 voltage locomotives and EMUs since it’s cheaper and easier than replacing all that infrastructure. Having both AC and DC compatibility is actually super old, the New Haven Railroad had one of the first AC-powered lines ever and the very first AC locomotives there had to be equipped for both it and the existing DC third rail in other sections. But being able to run on multiple AC frequencies is much more recent, and the CC 40100 was an early example of it. The Northeast Corridor in the US actually requires trains capable of running on THREE different AC voltages/frequencies, being able to “change your frequency” is an important requirement there (and in continental Europe)
Basically, silly 70s-80s era bi allusions are just how electric trains are. It’s so out there but so on the nose. It’s probably the single smartest writing decision of the show because it works so well and talking train media otherwise NEVER talks about these aspects of electrification.
“I can shock you, I can set you on fire”
The history of diesel and electric trains involves so, so much spontaneous combustion. Exploding is almost exclusively a steam engine thing, but if they wanted to dramatically kill Electra or Greaseball or any of the Nationals, this is always an option and weirdly underused.
“I can reach up and pluck down the lightning/watch the conductor, see the live wire”
Direct reference to overhead electrification and how pantographs are raised to make contact. Also fun play on train conductor/electrical conductor, which is popular in trolley/train jokes. This system is something almost exclusive to trains and part of why they are so established, efficient, widespread and convenient as electric vehicles. They’re genuinely absurdly OP vs basically all other forms of traction since they don’t have to carry their own fuel/power supply and can have ridiculously high single-unit power since the only limit is how much capacity the power grid has (and how much can be practically used without wheelslip). Due to their fixed paths they can run this way vs needing batteries and totally bypass the decades of density limits those had. Even today batteries are not really practical as a main power source for anything bigger than commuter EMUs and switchers.
(Trolleybuses are a thing and there’s been attempts at sticking pantographs on trucks… and I guess bumper cars technically count too lol)
Shoutout to Stexico for having a very different chorus with somehow the exact same sentiment.
“Macho/Hembra es mi conector” (Male/Female is my connector)
This is just a hilariously matter of fact statement about the electrical connections on AAR standard passenger engines and coaches, which I think Mexico uses since their rail system is so US-based but I could be wrong (privatization axed basically all their passenger services around the time Stexico came out and there’s very little even today). The stuff about “with my switch I connect you” is also incredibly matter of fact because there’s usually a separate switch or dial to turn on head end power on locomotives.
Electra is based on this very 70s bi stereotype/trope that lumps in the botanical definition of “bisexual” and makes characters “both male and female” in a way that’s inconsistently trans, GNC, and/or literally being 50/50 both in a way that doesn’t work that way in humans. Velvet von Ragnar from Never Too Young to Die is almost IDENTICAL in this regard as another example. But the hilarious thing is that it’s just… incredibly matter of fact and literal when applied to electric trains because so many of them are able to run on both AC and DC power because rail electrification is so messy and many of them are technically “both male and female” going off electrical connections.
Anyways, tangent aside
I do not know enough German to appreciate the intricacies of stuff like word choice or idioms in the translated lyrics but these ones are fun because they’re explicitly about overhead wires
“Steh unter Spannung”
I’ve seen the translation given as “I’m a live wire” but the more literal one seems to be “stand under tension/power/voltage” which I honestly like more no matter which one “Spannung” means here. I know voltage is sometimes called “pressure” as in water pressure in English, which this might be a case of. The allusion to voltage/power in overhead wire is obvious, but literal catenary wire tension is also SO important specifically in rail electrification. The wire has to be tight and straight enough to make proper contact with the pantograph (and getting the upwards pressure on those is also important). Europe has mostly reasonably modern lines with adjustable weights to keep wire tension constant but the northeast US has HUGE issues with outdated systems with fixed wires that sag in the heat (then get snagged on pantographs and torn down) or snap in the cold when they shrink/expand.
“Ein Griff von mir” (A grip of mine)
“Holt den Blitz aus der Leitung,” (Takes the lightning out of the wire)
Also seems to be a direct reference to pantograph pressure/contact with overhead lines, similar to the English version of this line. There’s a strong hand/arm association with pantographs in general due to their design, modern ones bend in arm-like ways and “touch” the wire in a very particular way.
Also this is probably just wild coincidence but “Griff” makes me laugh because Zaine Griff was the workshop Electra.
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Do I need to put a NSFW/suggestive tag on this or something due to the nature of a few of these? No clue. Have some shitposts anyway, especially because everyone really liked these the last time :D
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'i am me' goes hard but it would go even harder if they kept 'a lotta locomotion' and still had 'i am me' as well but have that play later on in the show it would hit way harder and it would do a much better job at the whole "the coaches are such girlbosses" message that its trying to convey. because as it is, its like "no guys. the coaches are awesome." and like. thats cool! but nobody ever said they weren't! anyways!
like. make it mean something more!!! :3
like imagine if it happened after u.n.c.o.u.p.l.e.d that would be so cool anD IT WOULD ACTUALLY MEAN SOMETHING and i know dinah ends up going with electra buT WHAT IF THATS CUZ SHE WANTS TO WINNNN!!!!!! SHE WANTS TO WIN!!! SHE WANTS TO WIN!!! :3 :3 :3 :3 :3
idk someones probably already had this idea lmao
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More trains 👍
I’ve been informed I color switched Dinah and Pearl but. Oh well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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STARLIGHT EXPRESS CAST ALBUM POLLS: LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL
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STARLIGHT EXPRESS CAST ALBUM POLLS: THE LOVE SONG
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STARLIGHT EXPRESS CAST ALBUM POLLS: ONE ROCK N' ROLL TO MANY
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STARLIGHT EXPRESS CAST ALBUM POLLS: I AM THE STARLIGHT/STARLIGHT SEQUENCE
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STARLIGHT EXPRESS CAST ALBUM POLLS: WIDE SMILE
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STARLIGHT EXPRESS CAST ALBUM POLLS: U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D.
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