Creeper Aw Man

2019Catchphrase / collaborative gamesemi-active

Also known as: Revenge Discord Game · Discord Sings Revenge

"Creeper, Aw Man" is a catchphrase and collaborative Discord game based on the opening lyrics of "Revenge," a Minecraft-themed parody of Usher's "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" by CaptainSparklez and TryHardNinja. The game, which took off in July 2019, challenged Discord server members to type the song's lyrics one message at a time in perfect order, restarting from scratch after any mistake. Videos of these chaotic attempts set to the actual music went viral across YouTube, Reddit, and Twitter, turning the phrase into a rallying cry for Minecraft nostalgia.

Overview

The meme works like this: someone in a Discord server types "Creeper," and another responds "Aw man." From there, members try to collectively type every lyric of "Revenge" in sequence, one line per person. If anyone makes an error, misspells a word, or posts out of order, the entire chain resets to the beginning2. The comedy comes from how spectacularly these attempts fail, with typos, wrong lines, and trolls derailing runs that sometimes get dozens of lines deep before collapsing.

Compilations of these attempts are edited together with the actual "Revenge" music track, so the song plays along smoothly until someone messes up, at which point the music cuts, restarts, and picks up again from the top2. The format turned a sing-along into a competitive endurance test with built-in slapstick.

"Revenge" was uploaded to YouTube on August 19, 2011 by Jordan Maron, better known as CaptainSparklez3. The Minecraft-themed parody of Usher's "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" featured vocals by Igor Gordienko (TryHardNinja) and animation by Bootstrap Buckaroo3. The song is told from the perspective of a Minecraft player under attack by creepers, the iconic green enemies that sneak up and explode. Its opening line, "Creeper, aw man / So we back in the mine," became one of the most quotable hooks in gaming YouTube history. As of April 2025, the music video had over 298 million views and held three Guinness World Records, including the record for most watched Minecraft YouTube video3.

The Discord game format appeared nearly eight years after the song's release. On July 8, 2019, a YouTuber named "king" uploaded a video showing their Discord server attempting to type all of the "Revenge" lyrics in sequence, starting over after every mistake2. The attempts were synced to the music, with the track resetting alongside the chat. The video picked up over 40,000 views2.

Origin & Background

Platform
YouTube (original song), Discord (game format)
Key People
CaptainSparklez / Jordan Maron, TryHardNinja / Igor Gordienko, YouTuber "king"
Date
2019 (meme trend), 2011 (original song)

"Revenge" was uploaded to YouTube on August 19, 2011 by Jordan Maron, better known as CaptainSparklez3. The Minecraft-themed parody of Usher's "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" featured vocals by Igor Gordienko (TryHardNinja) and animation by Bootstrap Buckaroo3. The song is told from the perspective of a Minecraft player under attack by creepers, the iconic green enemies that sneak up and explode. Its opening line, "Creeper, aw man / So we back in the mine," became one of the most quotable hooks in gaming YouTube history. As of April 2025, the music video had over 298 million views and held three Guinness World Records, including the record for most watched Minecraft YouTube video3.

The Discord game format appeared nearly eight years after the song's release. On July 8, 2019, a YouTuber named "king" uploaded a video showing their Discord server attempting to type all of the "Revenge" lyrics in sequence, starting over after every mistake2. The attempts were synced to the music, with the track resetting alongside the chat. The video picked up over 40,000 views2.

How It Spread

The trend broke out of its initial audience on July 17, 2019, when the video was posted to Reddit's r/YouTubeHaiku, where it earned over 3,600 upvotes2. That exposure inspired other Discord communities to attempt their own runs and film the results.

By July 20, Twitter user @jiazji posted their server's attempt, pulling in over 5,300 retweets and 11,000 likes2. The next day, @bananasprouts shared another version that earned 170 retweets and 510 likes2. On YouTube, creators like SkyJacc (80,000+ views) and LeviRoyale posted their own compilations, with LeviRoyale's server actually completing the entire song successfully2.

The trend fed into a broader wave of Minecraft nostalgia that swept the internet in mid-2019. "Revenge" was already experiencing a resurgence that year, and the Discord game gave fans a participatory way to engage with the song rather than just listening to it3. The call-and-response format spawned what Know Your Meme documented as the broader "Discord Sings" trend, where servers attempted collaborative lyric chains for other songs as well2.

Platforms

RedditTwitterTikTokInstagram

Timeline

2011

Creeper Aw Man first appears online

2011

Gains traction on social media

2012

Reaches peak popularity

2013-01-01

Creeper Aw Man reached mainstream popularity and media coverage

2014-01-01

Brands and companies started using Creeper Aw Man in marketing

2016-01-01

Creeper Aw Man entered the broader pop culture conversation

2025-01-01

Creeper Aw Man is still actively used and shared across platforms

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

The format is simple but demands coordination:

1

Someone types "Creeper" in a Discord text channel.

2

Another member responds "Aw man" (correct capitalization and spelling expected).

3

Each subsequent person posts the next line of the "Revenge" lyrics, one line per message, one person at a time.

4

If anyone posts the wrong lyric, misspells a word, posts out of order, or two people post at the same time, the chain resets to "Creeper."

5

The goal is to get through the entire song without a single error.

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

The Creeper Aw Man trend arrived at the perfect moment. In mid-2019, Minecraft was experiencing a massive popularity revival after several years of being dismissed as a "kids' game." PewDiePie's Minecraft let's play series had kicked off a wave of creators returning to the game, and the nostalgia factor for players who grew up with CaptainSparklez's music videos in 2011-2013 was at its peak.

The Discord game format helped establish "Discord Sings" as a recognized content genre. Servers began attempting lyric chains for other songs, but "Revenge" stayed the gold standard because of its recognizable opening and the sheer difficulty of getting dozens of people to coordinate flawlessly2.

CaptainSparklez himself acknowledged the renewed attention. The original "Revenge" video saw a significant viewership spike during the summer of 2019, contributing to its climb toward the nearly 300 million views it holds today3. The trend demonstrated how a song from the early 2010s YouTube era could find new life through community-driven formats on entirely different platforms.

Fun Facts

"Revenge" received three Guinness World Records, including one for the most watched Minecraft video on YouTube3.

CaptainSparklez (Jordan Maron) was only 19 when he uploaded "Revenge" in 2011. He dropped out of UC Santa Barbara to pursue YouTube full-time that same year3.

The song's TNT sister parody (of Taio Cruz's "Dynamite") actually surpassed the UK music video for the original song in views by April 20193.

Urban Dictionary entries for "Creeper Aw Man" describe the opening lyrics as a "gamer national anthem"1.

Maron retired from uploading Minecraft gameplay content on his main channel in December 2023, over 13 years after starting3.

Derivatives & Variations

Discord Sings (broader trend):

The success of the Revenge lyric chain inspired servers to attempt the same format with other songs, creating a whole genre of collaborative lyric videos[2].

"Creeper" call-and-response:

Even without the full game, typing "Creeper" became a standalone meme prompt where the expected response "Aw man" functions as a shibboleth for Minecraft fans[1].

Completion videos:

A subset of content focused on servers that actually finished the entire song, with LeviRoyale's successful run being a notable example[2].

Frequently Asked Questions