The kid's side of TikTok is often considered to be nearly incomprehensible, and trends like Gegagedigedagedago do this reputation no favors. The nonsensical remix of Rednex's 1994 song "Cotton Eye Joe" is often paired with various inanimate objects with a cartoon Roblox Face pasted onto them.

The trend has been ripping through TikTok in February 2024 while giving little inclination as to why it is so popular beyond its initial absurdity. Here's an attempt to track the trend through the creation of the track, the accounts that made it go viral, and the meme trends that promoted the earworm hook into the year 2024.

Where Does The 'Cotton Eye Joe' Cover Come From?

While Swedish band "Rednex" first released their song "Cotton Eye Joe" back in 1994, it was a cover posted by TikToker @razioff that took off on the app in 2024. Gathering over 28 million views, the cover replaced many of the song's original lyrics with nonsensical gibberish phrases like "Gegagedigedagedago."

@razioff Cotton Eye Joe #cottoneyejoe ♬ original sound – RAZI

Who Popularised The 'Gegagedigedagedago' Trend On TikTok?

An account that almost exclusively posted videos of a Roblox-faced Chicken Nugget popularised the gibberish Cotton Eye Joe remix on TikTok, posting a video using the sound in January 2024.

@wenonugget COTTON JOE idea by @OmegaPumpkin #omeganugget #burpingnugget #nugget #cottonjoe #western #collab #omegakitchen ♬ Gegagedigedagedago – OmegaPumpkin🤠

How Did The 'Gegagedigedagedago' Song Spread On TikTok?

Many TikTokers made remixes of the song, blending it with other popular pop tracks. TikToker @officialomegahamster posted a remix of the track, combining it with the song "Crank That" by Soulja Boy in January 2024.

@officialomegahamster Cotton eye Joe beat 🏆💪🤠 Idea from : @OmegaPumpkin #omega #pro #meme #fypシ #makethisviral #roblox #sigma #hamster #manface #fyp #coems #omega_hamster #omegahamster #omegaverse #funny ♬ original sound – paramind

The meme also grew popular as a result of people associated the song with Misheard Lyrics Speech Bubbles memes, as seen in a post by @imthebestchairbro and @duolingo, which gathered over 10 million and 27 million likes respectively.

@imthebestchairbro gadigedagedagidego#chair #gadigedadedigego #omg #fyp ♬ original sound – The real bill collector

@duolingo Fix bugs and add something new ❌ Make gegagedigedagedago ✔️ #duolingo #gegagedigegagedado #languagelearning ♬ original sound – The real bill collector

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For the full history of Gegagedigedagedago "Cotton Eye Joe" remixes, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.