Old Town Road

What is visible in the picture

The shot is taken from inside a stone tunnel or cave. Dark uneven walls frame a light opening through which the sky is visible. In the center of the opening stands a man in a light brown wide-brimmed hat, a waistcoat and a fitted jacket to match. His arms hang at his sides and his gaze is directed straight into the camera. The pose is calm, almost solemn, and it is this that makes the frame convenient for jokes: it already has everything needed to look epic.

The lighting is high-contrast: the walls are in deep shadow, and the background beyond the opening is bright. This composition works like a frame, and the eye immediately lands on the figure in the center. The hat, waistcoat and cut of the clothing read as the visual code of a Western, so the frame is recognized even without a caption. Where and when the photo was taken cannot be determined from the image itself, so the discussion below turns to the song and how the meme formed around it.

The song that became a chart record

The track appeared in early December 2018. Sources agree on this period but differ on details: some name December 2, while others give the official release date, December 3. The instrumental was made by the producer YoungKio and uses a sample from the Nine Inch Nails track “34 Ghosts IV”. Lil Nas X bought this beat for about 30 dollars. The first video was edited from footage of the video game Red Dead Redemption 2.

At the end of March 2019 Billboard removed the song from the country chart, where it then held 19th place. The dispute over whether it should count as country only fuelled interest. On April 5 a remix with Billy Ray Cyrus was released, and later it won Grammys in the categories of Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Music Video. From April 13 to August 17, 2019, the song held first place on the overall Hot 100 for 19 weeks in a row, before being replaced by Billie Eilish's “Bad Guy”. The record was later matched by Shaboozey's “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”, but this hit was the first to set it.

How the horses came to TikTok

The “yee yee” exclamation is older than the song, but it became a mass meme specifically after it. From late February and through March 2019, users began posting short clips in which the song was laid over horses, riders and people in hats. The common mechanic: a character in ordinary clothes suddenly appears in a cowboy outfit as soon as the beat starts.

Compilations with titles such as “yee yee juice” and “horses in the back” became popular. In parodies, characters drink juice and turn into country eccentrics, or simply dance to the chorus alongside animals. The mechanics are simple: a short rhythmic excerpt and an unexpected twist that the viewer anticipates. That is why the clips are easy to repeat and remake. The exact number of videos using this excerpt depends on how they are counted, so it is better to avoid big numbers.

Caption examples and why they work

The captions are built on one device: a majestic frame placed next to a mundane occasion.

“Went out for bread and came back already in a hat and with a horse.” The cave and the solemn pose create an expectation of a feat, while the occasion turns out to be very modest. The gap between the scale of the frame and a loaf of bread is the source of the laughter.

“Monday, nine in the morning, a queue for the coffee machine, like a duel.” The hero looks calm and confident, as if ready for a serious trial. The caption transfers this confidence to an ordinary routine, and the routine becomes funny.

“Found a spare coin in my pocket and decided that now he is his own sheriff.” A small joy is presented as a victory. The hat in the caption works as a symbol, not of a particular hero but of an ordinary person with some loose change in their pocket.

“Colleagues, the report has been accepted, but standing up, as is proper for a sheriff.” The irony is that authority and respect are transferred to a bureaucratic action. Such a caption works because the image of the Western is familiar to everyone and needs no explanation.

Where the template works best

The template is strongest where the visual contrast is obvious: a serious frame and a mundane caption. If the caption is too long, the effect disappears, so one line or two short phrases are usually enough.

Knowing the song is not required, but recognition helps. A mention of cowboys, horses or the melody itself immediately explains where the joke comes from. If the frame is used for a real situation involving a person, it is important to remember that the joke should be about the situation, not about the person in the photo. Then the caption stays funny and does not sound hurtful.