About

Norfolk Southern: What's Your Function? is a promotional music video for Norfolk Southern railways. The song has been used in fan tribute videos using trainspotting footage, or by using sandbox games such as Roblox or Minecraft, as well as parody videos featuring video footage of Norfolk Southern trains crashing into other vehicles or being derailed. The song is strongly speculated to have been performed by former Tally Hall member Rob Cantor,^[1] and is based on the Schoolhouse Rock! song Conjunction Junction.

Origin

The music video was first posted to YouTube on May 10th, 2013, by Norfolk Southern Corp. The video received over 403,000 views until it was made private in 2015.^[2] The video was reuploaded to YouTube (shown below) on April 25th, 2014, by RP3 Agency where it received over 228,000 views in over eight years.^[3] The video features Norfolk Southern trains, as well as other logistical vehicles such as forklifts and shipping container cranes, moving in a synchronized manner.

Spread

On February 23rd, 2018, YouTube user CraftyFoxe posted a fan video using trains built in Minecraft. The video (shown below) received over 714,000 views in over five years. On October 12th, 2020, YouTube user ViaRailRBLX posted a fan video of the song using trains in Roblox. The video (shown below, right) received over 90,000 views in over two years.

On December 12th, 2021, YouTube user gamer boi posted a video using the song played along to footage of Norfolk Southern trains crashing into various vehicles that were sitting on train crossings, as well as footage of a derailed Norfolk Southern train. The video (shown below) received over 330,000 views in over one year.

Various Examples

External References