# The Straight Dope, Please, On The Llama Song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 7, 2006, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-please-on-the-llama-song/363569 "2006-07-07T23:00:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-please-on-the-llama-song/363569/1 "2006-07-07T23:00:41Z")
> **[Unavailable](https://poqbum.com/pagenotfound.html)** > > We offer the largest selection of Free Myspace Layouts, Myspace Backgrounds, Graphics, Myspace Comments, Codes, Generators, Extended Network Banners, Layout Maker & Profile Editor. When I first saw this, I assumed it was in a language other than English, and someone had subtitled it with their impression of what the lyrics sound like on the supposition that they are, instead, in English. I’ve seen that done with other songs before, though I can’t recall where ATM. Anyway, though, the more of the Llama Song I heard, the more it seemed like the vocals might actually be in English. Does anyone know the Straight Dope on this? -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-please-on-the-llama-song/363569/2 "2006-07-07T23:10:33Z")
One of the reasons this song works so well is that the melody moves so quickly that _any_ words sound correct, even if there’s some garbage or nonsense included. My WAG is that this case uses samples of a very basic voice synthesiser (I’m thinking kids toys from way back in the early 90s), with individual syllables sampled and transposed to the necessary pitch. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-please-on-the-llama-song/363569/3 "2006-07-07T23:35:15Z")
Apparently, the Llama Song was [composed in English.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llama_song) Although you are correct there are a number of cases in which foreign songs are interpreted as though they are being sung in English. The [Animutations](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animutation) make use of these, and it is a common cliche on [You’re The Man Now Dog](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YTMND) (such as the Finnish version of the _DuckTales_ theme: “What’s the problem, taco Nazi? Take a chance and count on Lassie.”). ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-please-on-the-llama-song/363569/4 "2006-07-07T23:45:32Z")
_La llama es mas grande que la ranaaaaa!_ ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-please-on-the-llama-song/363569/5 "2006-07-07T23:47:19Z")
Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring, bananaphone! ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2006, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-please-on-the-llama-song/363569/6 "2006-07-08T00:23:28Z")
Thanks for the links. I’m trying to figure out how this: [http://www.verylowsodium.com/fanimutation/exuberance](http://www.verylowsodium.com/fanimutation/exuberance) works as a critique of consumerism (as one person claims on a wikipedia page). But I didn’t watch the whole thing–maybe I missed something later on? -Kris ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2006, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-please-on-the-llama-song/363569/7 "2006-07-08T00:25:41Z")
La llama es un quadrupedo. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2006, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-please-on-the-llama-song/363569/8 "2006-07-08T00:27:26Z")
[QUOTE=Frylock] Thanks for the links. I’m trying to figure out how this: [http://www.verylowsodium.com/fanimutation/exuberance](http://www.verylowsodium.com/fanimutation/exuberance) works as a critique of consumerism (as one person claims on a wikipedia page). But I didn’t watch the whole thing–maybe I missed something later on? -Kris [/QUOTE] > **[Yatta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yatta)** > > Yatta may refer to: ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2006, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-please-on-the-llama-song/363569/9 "2006-07-08T00:29:27Z")
Sorry, didn’t read properly and missed that you’d mentioned Wikipedia…how is it _not_ a vague tounge-in-cheek piece of fun playing around with familiar logos? (It doesn’t have to be deep to be a critique) ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2006, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-please-on-the-llama-song/363569/10 "2006-07-08T00:34:49Z")
Well, it appears that Yatta is some sort of company and/or product. And the thing about the Wendy’s Dave Thomas being more powerful than the comedian Dave Thomas must have something to do with the idea of big business being more powerful than other things. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2006, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-please-on-the-llama-song/363569/11 "2006-07-08T00:35:45Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] Sorry, didn’t read properly and missed that you’d mentioned Wikipedia…how is it _not_ a vague tounge-in-cheek piece of fun playing around with familiar logos? (It doesn’t have to be deep to be a critique) [/QUOTE] That wasn’t the wikipedia entry I had already seen. The one you provided helped. All I had seen (noticed, anyway) related to consumerism was a series of logos with the word “yatta” inserted into them. That doesn’t seem like critique to me. But after reading the thing you linked to, I see I just needed to watch it a couple more times, and all the way through, to see what was going on. -Kris ---
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2006, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-please-on-the-llama-song/363569/12 "2006-07-08T08:51:49Z")
I dunno about The Llama Song, but [The Sawyer Song](http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/sawyer.php) appears to be in English: Being a **Lost** fan is so fun. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2006, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-please-on-the-llama-song/363569/13 "2006-07-08T23:05:11Z")
I don’t watch _Lost_, but I like that parody. Especially the revelation that two Sawyers equal one Hurley. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2006, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-please-on-the-llama-song/363569/14 "2006-07-08T23:19:22Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring, bananaphone! [/QUOTE] The funniest thing about this is instead of a link to the cartoon (I’m not sure if you were going for [the original](http://www.transbuddha.com/osaka/osakaphone.html) or [this parody/combination](http://www.lemonizer.com/banana/) of the orignal with [badger badger](http://weebls-stuff.com/toons/badgers/) graphics), you accidentially typed “ring ring ring ring ring ring ring, bananaphone!,” which made me laugh for some reason. (That and the fact that today is Raffi’s birthday.)