“We Are So Back” is an Internet meme for our times

The phrase has become ubiquitous online as a way to celebrate life's small pleasures, at least until "it's over" .

Before taking the stage at Coachella last weekend, Lana Del Rey rode through the crowd on the back of a motorcycle in a sparkling blue dress with her long blond hair blowing in the wind. It was his first performance at the event in a decade, and for some it was reminiscent of the bygone days of 2014 – perhaps a simpler time, when the festival was in what many consider its golden age .

On the Internet, Ms. Del Rey's return to Coachella sparked murmurs of agreement: We're so back .

Back to what, exactly? Excellent question. The phrase “we’re back” – sometimes morphed into the even more passionate “we’re so back” – is half of a popular Internet meme. When you come back, everything is fine. You are on top of the world. Your investments are up, your football team is winning, you beat an army of robots and got tickets to see your favorite artist.

Or maybe it is something even simpler. Two weeks of rain finally broke and gave way to a gloriously sunny day. A reality show you love is starting a new season. You've made it to the weekend.

The other half of the meme — it's so over — is for when tokens are exhausted. Your team loses. You need to tell your group chat that you didn't get the concert tickets. The rain starts again. Life, as far as this binary meme is concerned, is a constant fluctuation between coming back and ending.

The Internet Encyclopedia Know Your Meme traces its origins back to the beginning of 2021, when, perhaps not unrelated, Covid lockdowns began to ease and many people returned to once-familiar pleasures like dining out and going to parties.

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