'Skimbleshanks The Railway Cat' Geoffrey Garratt | Cats The Musical 

Want to watch more Cats? Look no further! bit.ly/3bintJ4

i love how the song before this is a sad song about two cats lamenting over their glory days, meanwhile, skimble comes in like "I LIVED ON A TRAIN"

I know the coat and watch are clever costuming to make him look like a stationmaster but I choose to believe that the humans put a tiny costume on him because he’s on the train so much

When you think about it, Skimbleshanks is the happiest cat of them all living the life he wanted. That's why this is one of my favorite songs, such joy expressed from it.

Whenever I feel bad I come here to watch Skimbleshanks and I feel a little bit better bc Skimbleshanks won't let anything go wrong

Between this Skimbleshanks and the movie version, they have a complete outfit between them

I admit, this is the only song where both versions slap.

I just love the section where all the kittens just crowd around him as he describes what it's like on a train, and they're all so excited and watching him with these big eyes. And then he says "The guard looked in politely, and would ask you very brightly, do you like your morning tea--" and the kittens all joyfully interrupt like "Weak or strong!!!" Skimbleshanks looks so caught off guard but the kittens have heard this story thousands of times and he always tells it the same yet they're all so excited to hear it again and again and... I dunno that's just so real and wholesome.

Champagne casting was this film - Never had a better Skimbleshanks, Munkustrap or Rum Tum Tugger since

This is the perfect example of what cats is really about. And it is about cats. I always like to see the subtext of what the actual cat talking about itself is. Skimble shanks does not run the train and where everybody knows skimble shanks the train cat, the train can totally take off without him. Cats have this air of self importance and so from the cat's perspective yes that is his train nothing goes on on that train that he doesn't know about and that he doesn't allow he prances up and down it all day and night being loved by the passengers thinking he owns it just like a cat would.

Don't mess with him or you'll get Skimble-shanked.

I still can't get over how much better the stage costumes look over the movie. This was my absolute favorite musical as a child, I would rent the VHS from the library to watch it!!

I absolutely adore the ego he expresses. He's a cat who feels not just in charge of one owner, but an entire train, including the driver and all the passengers. And rightfully so, since the train won't leave without him. Between the music, the lyrics, and how Geoffrey Garratt delivers the performance, you can absolutely tell that this cat feels like he's royalty from a faraway land when he visits the other cats to tell them about his travels.

Headcanon: Skimbleshanks is the cool grandad to all of the kittens, a total kitten at heart and always making messes with them to annoy Jennyanydots

I love that even though Tugger is just laying around watching all this go down, he still sings the chorus with the rest of the ensemble. And he watches everything with his head darting around like an actual cat watching birds fly around outside.

23 years later this version still SLAPS

I like how at 3:07 Skimble mimes catching a mouse and then gives it to Old Deut, who plays along. "Why thank you, young man. I'll save this for later."

Can we all appreciate how happy Old Deutheronomy is at 4:42-4:50? His legs may be tottery and he must walk slow but he still has the time of his life running and playing around with the younger kittens.

This song seems to bring out the kitten in everybody. Even Old Deuteronomy looks so eager to join in on the dancing.

I bet all the passengers love skimble :) silly little kitty sometimes stops for scratches but mostly he likes to watch the conductors and engineers and everybody work.

The 6 dislikes are all from Macavity´s different accounts.

Miss Saigon: They landed a helicopter on stage Cats: They made a TRAIN on stage

Heck yeah train dad

He is born to play Skimbleshanks. Perfect cast!

I love the implication that he was just peeing all over everyone’s luggage when everyone was looking for him.

I wanna turn this song into an animated cartoon where we keep switching from a real-world perspective to Skimbleshanks' perspective. In RW, everything is running normally with people acting as they usually would in any situation, but then it switches to the cat's POV and everyone is hyperfocused on Skimble, singing his praises for all the work he's doing keeping everyone on task. We keep switching back and forth like throughout the song, during the line where "the passengers all frantic to a man" in RW is only one or two people curious about the delay, but to Skimbleshanks everyone is literally tearing the train apart trying to find him, or when "he wouldn't approve of hilarity and riot so the folks are very quiet" the cat thinks everyone would be having a destructive party without him on board, but in reality everyone is sleeping because it's 1 in the morning.

It gives me such PURE JOY when they sing "SKIMBLE WHERE IS SKIMBLE?!"

I love how they portray Skimbleshanks as the grandpa who's getting older but his energy masks his lack of flips because his dramatic flare upkeeps his performance so well!

My sister: Have you been listening to Cats lately? Me: No Also Me: SKIMBLESHANKS THE RAILWAY CAT-

Still love that Tugger is just chilling. He's hidden a tad but he's up at the top right.

I wonder if he knows how many of us are still his fans after 23 years

Maybe it's just me, but the look on Victoria's face when Rumpelteezer sneezes, is adorable.

I love that the older cats love watching him tell the story to the younger cats. When they all participated and went 'woo woo!' the older cats chuckled at how endearing it is.

The lyrics of this song (and the poem it's based on) are so cute and capture the personality of a stern but affectionate little busybody cat so well. Like, he he seems so fond when he talks about the people in the sleeper car and how he's keeping them out of mischief and safe from mice.

Can we just appreciate Munk helping his father join the fun at 4:45?

Munkustrap is my favorite character, he's so protective, so happy to see others having fun, so willing to do stuff and join in on their little stunts and dances. He's just a joy

The little elbow patches 💕

I just love the way Tumblebrutus is just sitting athe front of the train holding the light. He looks like he is having so much fun

It's so interesting to see what the other cats do in the background. Half the time I'm surprised to find Tugger sneaking about back there or the caring expressions Munkustrap gives the cats as he sits beside Old Deuteronomy.

Sideways is so right- this song absolutely does slap.

This is my 2 year old's favourite song from Cats he tries to dance in time and loves the whoo whoos 😂

this song fills me with such a child like joy it makes me so happy

it literally gets me everytime how excited old deut is to be involved in the younger cats' lives and stories. he's just so happy to be there. what a king. i love hhim.

There's always just so much to love about this. The fact that this only starts because everyone just wants Skimble to tell a story they've all clearly heard a million times about his days on the train, the kittens and adolescents following him around, mimicking his movements and building a giant fake train, Old Doot and Skimble's reaction when the train falls apart, Munkustrap helping Old Doot join in on the dancing. I could go on literally forever all the love, care and background details I keep spotting every watch through.

i am so glad that i am not the only one who sees this as the embodiment of pure joy. he is literally perfect, flawless, the ideal etc etc. i cry when i think about him.

i love that cassandra, coricopad and tantomile are joining in the fun here

"Memory" might be the best song on the musical. But this is my favourite, no question

i love all the kittens trying to copy skimble's moves the whole time

Old Deuteronomy taking that invisible mouse from Skimbleshanks is just like when your three year cousin gives you playdough spaghetti and you pretend to eat it.

Ahh I love his physicality so much! He is so incredibly different than all of the other cats in every aspect of him, from his dialect to the way he moves to the way he expresses himself to his story. My favorite cat, and Geoffrey Garratt is the only true Skimbleshanks in my mind!

This song never fails to give me chills. The instrumental reminds me so much of a real-life speeding steam train. I guess it's the bpm combined with the little "horn" noises every now and then. It paints pictures in my mind. ALW is a true genius.

2:40 Victoria’s shocked face after Rumpleteazer sneezes is so funny! 😂

Finally a full Skimbleshanks performance! Absolutely adore this song, always brings a smile to my face :)

Love how everybody is so happy and entertained here, ever such mysterious and dignified cat as Cassandra. Skimbleshanks is this funny, lovable uncle at every family meeting.

When everyone was obsessed with Memory, this was my favorite!

gotta love old t trying to keep up the pace and even getting so excited that he started to dance with skimble

Going through the book this was honestly the poem I found most fun to read, because it's where the observational humor has probably aged best: juxtaposing a cat who's fussy and impossible to please, technology that's always fussy and impossible to please, and travel - when people are generally at our most fussy and impossible to please

I was happy to see the elusive Exotica singing next to Jellylorum. Also, Skimbleshanks has one of the cutest cat faces of all the cast. 😻😸

ngl, i kind of miss the tapping. the only number in the movie that made me feel anything but horror

I have never seem this musical (and Im mad about it now), but I think we can all agree the Skimbleshanks is that one uncle who has a gigantic model train set in his basement that he lets all his nieces and nephews play with.

This is the best song of the entire show but I can never fully appreciate it within its context bc it immediately follows the most depressing song of all time

That bit of choreo at 4:36 has been haunting me since I saw the recording

I adore Rumpleteazer all the time, but I love her in this song particularly. She looks like she's having so much fun. I like to think Skimbleshanks is like her fun grandfather. Favorite moments: 1:00 , 3:26

Shimbleshanks doesn't know the hell he is supposed to be doing, he's just having fun.

IT STILL RINGS IN MY EAR! I LOVE THIS.

Lyrics: Skimbleshanks the railway cat The cat of the railway train There's a whisper down the line at eleven thirty-nine When the Night Rail's ready to depart Saying, "Skimble, where is Skimble? Has he gone to hunt the thimble? We must find him or the train can't start" All the guards and all the porters And the station master's daughters Would be searchin' high and low Saying, "Skimble, where is Skimble? For unless he's very nimble Then the Night Rail just can't go" At eleven forty-two with the signal overdue And the passengers all frantic to a man That's when I would appear and I'd saunter to the rear I'd been busy in the luggage van Then he gave one flash of his glass-green eyes And the signal went 'All clear' They'd be off at last for the northern part of the Northern Hemisphere Skimbleshanks, the railway cat The cat of the railway train You might say that by and large It was me who was in charge Of the Sleeping Car Express From the driver and the guards To the bagmen playing cards I‘d supervise them all, more or less Down the corridor he paces and examines all the faces Of the travelers in the first and the third He establishes control by a regular patrol And he'd know at once if anything occurred He would watch you without winking And he saw what you were thinking And it's certain that he didn't approve Of hilarity and riot so that folk were very quiet When Skimble was about and on the move You could play no pranks with Skimbleshanks He's a cat that cannot be ignored So nothing went wrong on the Northern Rail When Skimbleshanks was aboard It was very pleasant when they'd found their little den With their name written up on the door And the berth was very neat with a newly folded sheet And not a speck of dust upon the floor There was every sort of light, you could make it dark or bright And a button you could turn to make a breeze And a funny little basin you're supposed to wash your face in And a crank to shut the window should you sneeze Then the guard looked in politely and would ask you very brightly "Do you like your morning tea weak or strong?" But I was right behind him and was ready to remind him For Skimble won't let anything go wrong When they crept into their cosy berth And pulled up the counterpane They all could reflect, that it was very nice To know that they wouldn't be bothered by mice They can leave all that to the railway cat The cat of the railway train Skimbleshanks, the railway cat The cat of the railway train Skimbleshanks, the railway cat The cat of the railway train In the watches of the night, I was always fresh and bright Every now and then I'd have a cup of tea With perhaps a drop of Scotch while I was keepin' on the watch Only stopping here and there to catch a flea They were fast asleep at Crewe and so they never knew That I was walkin' up and down the station They were sleeping all the while I was busy at Carlisle Where I met the station master with elation They might see me at Dumfries if I summoned the police If there was anything they ought to know about When they got to Gallowgate there they did not have to wait For Skimbleshanks would help them to get out And he gives you a wave of his long, brown tail Which says "I'll see you again" You will meet without fail on the Midnight Rail The cat of the railway train The cat of the railway train

I named my childhood cat Skimbleshanks because I liked trains growing up. She was my best friend.

Asparagus: having and existential crisis and reflecting on how his glory days are over Everyone else: hey let's go see skimble!

I remember watching Cats when I was 7 years old and being so excited

munkustrap this is an official intervention, you need to stop looking like you're hopelessly in love with everyone. we're all concerned for you

Rumple getting Electra in trouble is my fave

I love that Rum Tum Tugger is kind of hidding in the decor, like he's watching and singing, but doesn't join the dance, he looks like a kid spying on the party it's so cute!! I love this song

At 3:37 at the far left of the screen, you can see a camera coming in

I know a cat next to my local 7-eleven who reminded me of Skimbles

Me being a railway enthusiast: Yeah I'm kind of a skimbleshanks myself 🚂

This was a regular watch for me and my family, before we all fell apart. I feel so safe and happy. Skimbleshanks, Mangojerri+Rumpleteaser, and all the cats...I can trust them. I'm glad it's here.

4:48 I love how happy Old Deuteronomy looks when he is having fun

I used to love this musical as a kid, I would always ask to watch it because of the adrenaline rush every time of the jump scares happened. But this has to be my favorite song by far.

I feel like Skimbleshanks is the cat who makes sure you don't sleep in past 5am, and is always following you around the house (i.e. my cat)

My favorite is how even the reserved Cassandra isn't above jumping in and having fun with everyone else.

For obvious reasons, this is one of my favorites...

I love this song, it reminds me of all the times I've travelled on the night train from London to Fort William

I think my teacher's worksheet put it the best, "Skimbleshanks An older cat who lives at a trainstation, he is like an uncle to the other cats."

idk why but the dance at 1:07 is just so adorable

Is it bad that I would die for him?

To be an ensemble in this cast must’ve required some next level talent. You need to hit your notes, do those dance moves in awkward tight fitting clothes, and handle large, complicated props, all while having to act fanciful and fun.

This is definitely one of my favorite musical songs ever

OMG, this song is so cheerish and lovely... Trully lifts a depressing day. Works every single time!! ^^

Skimble reminds me of my late grandpa. :)

Props to the whole cast for dancing that well in 13/8

skimbleshanks puts a big smile on my face every time i listen to this song, he's just so happy..

This is my favourite song from the show, it’s just so upbeat and all the performers look like they’re having a lot of fun ❤

The best cat of the Jellicles. No doubt.

For anyone who has ever been in CATS, we know, this song is the HARDEST song in the show! The harmony, lyrics and dance are just… ooof! It’s a masterpiece, but so difficult

Believe it or not, I had this song playing on my Spotify, and I found myself singing along while doing my security rounds. I find this song to have a very strong positive vibe. I am always looking for new ways to make my job more enjoyable.

I have cried to this video more times than I'd like to admit.

0:58 Jemima and Rumpleteaser are mimicking Train Dad

the chorus of this song is soo catchy but i can never sing along coz im too busy counting off the 13/8 beat

skimbleshanks: i never sleep also skimbleshanks: starts the number sleeping

I hope you post the whole musical again!