Inaugural Trams

Album: Dark Days/Light Years (2009)
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Songfacts®:

  • The band told Pitchfork Media that this Kraftwerk homage is: "A celebratory anthem regarding the opening of a new tram line in a fictitious utopian mainland Europe town."
  • Special guest Nick McCarthy of Franz Ferdinand contributed spoken word German vocals to this track.
  • The reason this song was written about the opening of a new tram system, was because that was the most uplifting occasion frontman Gruff Rhys could think of. He explained to The London Times March 20,2009."My great-grandmother was run over by a tram in the Mumbles. But I'm still very much in favour of trams as a low-emission inner-city transport solution. The song is about commemorating the opening with a secular holiday. It's a celebration of living with science rather than religion."

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