The ocean has him now
What is the modern British man? Does he replicate Joe Rogan’s kettle bell workouts, love a cold one and vlog boohooMAN hauls? Or does he prefer the honesty of the ocean, its solace and lurking fury?
Why not both?
Being honest, I thought the meme lads were over. Enduring, sure, but no longer in the professional poster’s repertoire, like ‘Wood‘ – who your one mate from school still believes to be the pinnacle of WhatsApp humour.
But they’re not.
If anything they’re only really in the second wave of their popularity, like coronavirus infections in the UK, and, who knows, a triple threat Easter could be on the cards. If you’re not familiar, here’s an earlier iteration of the meme:
“Yeah he might have been a bit racist, but defacing a Winston Churchill statue is just too far mate.” pic.twitter.com/Yl0jBWaFNK
— Harrison Brocklehurst (@harrisonjbrock) June 9, 2020
It all started, presumably, with the fellas getting a cute pic pre-sesh and has now morphed into a deep fake video in which the four-man group form an acapella band and sing a sea shanty for the internet’s pleasure.
Sea shanty tiktok is WILD pic.twitter.com/rjY1iXFQkA
— Kristian (@vonstrenginho) January 14, 2021
Thank vonstrenginho, formerly of this parish, for the edit.
The shanty is ‘Wellerman.’ According to Genius: “From 1833 onwards, the Wellermen, ships owned by Weller Brothers of Sydney, supplied provisions to New Zealand shore whaling stations from their base at Otago, NZ.
“Throughout their existence, the Wellermen (also known as the Weller brothers), became New Zealand’s paramount merchant traders. The lyrics evoke imagery of one of the Wellermen’s major functions; supplying “sugar, tea and rum” to shore whalers.
“In January 2021, this song became a meme on TikTok.”
So there you have it – Rogan or the high seas? No need to choose.
