A song that lived in forwards
The basis of the meme is the song “Four Lads,” which circulated in the 2000s. Online recordings are usually credited to the group “5 Region,” but a detailed biography of the performers and the exact recording date remain unknown. The song passed from one amateur compilation to another, so many listeners remembered the plot and melody before they became curious about the authors. This life outside any album history helped the short formula become recognizable on its own.
The narrative begins with a close company of childhood friends and then steadily reports its breakup and the tragic fates of its members. Each hero receives a separate story; the return to the shared group intensifies the sorrowful tone. Amateur video montages paired the song with footage from the series “Brigada,” which also features four central friends. Among the earliest described online traces are pictures from 2011 and a montage of a 2012 series. They show that the song was already being used, not the date of its creation.
Turtles dress up for a group portrait
The drawing shows four green ninja turtles in formal clothes. On the left, the hero with the red mask stands with arms crossed, in a dark suit and red tie. Behind him, the character with the purple mask wears a bow tie over a white shirt. In front is a smiling turtle with an orange mask gesturing with both hands; it wears a black vest and yellow details of clothing. On the right is the hero in a blue mask and blue tie.
The figures are outlined in white, the background is pink, and black margins are left at the top and bottom. This is an independent drawn composition whose author has not been established. It resembles a friendly group portrait: the participants differ in colors and poses but are presented as a single team. The picture shows no tragic event at all. The link to the song is created through the number of characters and an imagined musical accompaniment.
Counting to four and shifting the intonation
For this format, four recognizable figures are enough. They may be friends, rivals or simply identical objects placed side by side. The caption assigns them a shared history, even if the image contains no friendship or adventure. The further the new company is from the sorrowful song plot, the more noticeable the comic exaggeration becomes.
In a video the montage works more expressively: the heroes are shown one at a time, as if each had a personal fate, and then the group shot returns. An ordinary sequence of actions acquires the tint of a dramatic chronicle. In the still version, the poses and arrangement of the figures take over the role of the montage. The smile of the turtle with the orange mask particularly contradicts the mournful mood that the viewer recalls together with the melody.
New companies for an old tune
All the following variants are fictional. Four mugs stand on the table, brought by friends for a board game evening. By the start of the game one has been carried off to the kitchen, a second is taken over by pencils, a third is hidden behind a box, and the fourth remains beside the host. The song-like intonation turns the ordinary moving of dishes into the story of a team that has fallen apart.
Another invented clip shows four participants on a walk. One stops to photograph a sign, a second goes off for a bun, a third examines a shop window, and the fourth has already reached the right turn. The solemn montage depicts a dramatic parting, although in a minute everyone will meet again.
In a third fictional scene, four game characters set out on a quest, but each chooses their own side quest. The group portrait promised a united adventure, while the subsequent frames show four different pursuits. The joke uses the familiar form of a story about a company to exaggerate a completely harmless loss of the shared plan.
