Title:
The Llama Song
Meme Creator:
Burton Earny (Paul Mortimer)
Media Creator:
Burton Earny (Paul Mortimer)
Meme Creation Year:
2004
Media Year:
2004
Height of Popularity:
2004-2008
Era:
Goldent Age of Memes
Platform:
AlbinoBlackSheep
Animated Meme
Type:
Tags:
llama song, burton earny, flash animation, random humor, albino black sheep, nonsensical, viral video, early internet
History:
In an era when the internet's capacity for transforming the absurd into the beloved was still being discovered, one artist's deliberately nonsensical creation about llamas would demonstrate how pure randomness could capture the collective imagination and establish the template for countless viral animations to follow.
"The Llama Song" is a Flash animated video created by Burton Earny (real name Paul Mortimer) featuring his own original composition. On July 29th, 2004, DeviantArt user burtonearny uploaded a flash animation set to his own original composition, "The Llama Song." First on DeviantArt where it has >50 000 views. Then on Newgrounds where it has >300 000 views. The same video was later uploaded to AlbinoBlackSheep in 2005 (Know Your Meme, 2009).
The animation features a series of colorful and psychedelic images accompanied by the quirky song. The combination of the catchy tune and the bizarre visuals captivated internet users, leading to the song's widespread popularity (PetShun, 2024). The video consisted of rapidly changing images of llamas, ducks, and other random objects synchronized to Earny's deliberately nonsensical lyrics that celebrated the absurd through repetitive enumeration of llamas and unexpected interruptions.
Posted on Deviantart on the 29th of July, 2004, by user Burtonearny, the song and the imagery of this video is Burtonearny's own original creation. The original Deviantart post accumulated over 50,000 views before also being posted to Newgrounds, where it then settled soon after on AlbinoBlackSheep and eventually YouTube (Internet Archive, 2004). This migration pattern exemplified the typical distribution method for Flash animations during the mid-2000s, moving from creator platforms to dedicated animation portals.
The cultural impact of "The Llama Song" extended far beyond its initial platforms. This wacky and random song quickly took off all over the internet and created a meme. Animated GIFs derived from the song were created and made available through Avatarist, Teen Nick, DeviantArt, and Photobucket to name a few (Know Your Meme, 2009). The song's infectious melody and humorous content made it a favorite among internet users of all ages, establishing it as one of the defining examples of early viral content.
The success of "The Llama Song" helped establish the aesthetic and humor sensibilities that would define mid-2000s internet culture. Its embrace of deliberate randomness, repetitive catchiness, and colorful visual chaos became a template for countless subsequent viral animations. The video demonstrated how original content creators could achieve widespread internet fame through platforms like DeviantArt and Albino Black Sheep, predating the centralized viral ecosystem that would later emerge with YouTube's dominance.
The animation's enduring appeal lies in its perfect encapsulation of early internet humor: accessible, repeatably quotable, and delightfully meaningless. Different variations of the song, changing the animal or subject matter for example, surfaced after (Internet Archive, 2004), showing how the original spawned a broader trend of similar nonsensical musical animations that became a staple of Flash-based internet entertainment.
Notes about the Creator/s:
Creator (Media and Meme):
Burton Earny (real name Paul Mortimer) composed 'The Llama Song' - a short, comical song, which was set to a flash animation. He has also composed a number of other songs, animations and still cartoons, mostly of a comedic nature (Last.fm, 2025). Operating primarily under the username "burtonearny" on DeviantArt, Mortimer represented the type of independent creator who thrived during the early Flash animation era.
According to his DeviantArt post, Earny took full creative control of the project: "I wrote it, sung it, played it, made the pics... everything!" He later clarified that the version that became widely distributed was technically "The Llama Song MKII," noting that in "the old version that's still ripped on some websites the pictures weren't mine, so this is technically The Llama Song MKII... but minor details, minor details" (DeviantArt, 2004).
Earny's approach to creation exemplified the DIY ethos of early internet culture, where individual creators could achieve viral success through personal websites and animation portals without corporate backing or traditional media distribution. His work demonstrated how the internet enabled artists to experiment with deliberately nonsensical content and find appreciative audiences for forms of humor that would not have found mainstream outlets in traditional media.
The creator's Canadian background and his decision to share the work freely online reflected the international and open nature of early internet creative communities, where geographical boundaries mattered less than creative innovation and community engagement.
Notes about the years:
Media and Meme Creation Year (2004):
The animation was created and first uploaded to DeviantArt on July 29, 2004, representing both its media creation and the beginning of its meme status. The timing placed it squarely within the golden age of Flash animation, when the format was becoming the dominant medium for internet-based animated content.
Height of Popularity (2004-2008):
The animation achieved sustained popularity throughout the mid-2000s, beginning with its DeviantArt success in 2004, expanding through Newgrounds, and reaching broader audiences when it was featured on Albino Black Sheep in 2005. The YouTube upload by the AlbinoBlackSheep channel on June 13th, 2008, marked its transition into the YouTube era and helped maintain its cultural relevance as the internet's primary video platform consolidated around Google's service.
The sustained popularity through this period demonstrates the animation's ability to transcend platform changes and maintain cultural relevance as internet culture evolved from the Flash portal era to the early YouTube era.
Sources and additional information:
DeviantArt. (2004, July 29). The Llama Song by burtonearny. Retrieved June 19, 2025, from https://www.deviantart.com/burtonearny/art/The-Llama-Song-9311361
Internet Archive. (2004, July 29). The Llama Song - (2004). Retrieved June 19, 2025, from https://archive.org/details/LlamaSongwithOfficialMP3youtubemp4.to
Know Your Meme. (2009, August 26). The Llama Song. Retrieved June 19, 2025, from https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/the-llama-song
Last.fm. (2025). Burton Earny. Retrieved June 19, 2025, from https://www.last.fm/music/Burton+Earny
PetShun. (2024, April 1). Unveiling The Llama Song: A Catchy Internet Phenomenon. Retrieved June 19, 2025, from https://petshun.com/article/what-is-the-llama-song