Canonical Crying Nae Nae template featuring ASCII stick figures with sad crying emoji faces in dance poses with yellow fists.

Crying Nae Nae

2018Emoji copypastadead

Published March 24, 2026

Crying Nae Nae is an emoji copypasta from June 2018 where Unicode characters are arranged to depict a figure performing the Nae Nae dance, but with a crying or sad face instead of a happy one. The format pairs these mournful emoji dancers with depressing lyrics, existential thoughts, or incongruously somber song quotes, creating a contrast between the upbeat dance and bleak text. It spread rapidly on Twitter over roughly two weeks before burning out as a short-lived but well-loved micro-format.

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Overview

The Crying Nae Nae takes the familiar emoji recreation of the Nae Nae dance and swaps the usual celebratory vibe for sadness. The emoji figures are arranged in a multi-line text block that visually mimics someone hitting the Nae Nae, but their faces show tears or distress2. The text surrounding them features sad song lyrics, melancholy quotes, or darkly funny existential statements, producing a comedic mismatch between a party dance and emotional devastation1.

Recreating the Nae Nae in emoji form was already a known practice on Twitter following Silento's 2015 hit "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)," which brought the dance into the mainstream1. The Crying Nae Nae twist added an emotional layer that fit neatly into late-2010s internet humor, where pairing upbeat formats with depressive content was a popular comedic move.

Origin & Background

Platform
Twitter
Creator
Barstool Old Dominion
Date
2018

The earliest known Crying Nae Nae appeared on June 14, 2018, posted by the Twitter account Barstool Old Dominion2. That first version featured sad-faced emoji figures arranged in the Nae Nae pose alongside lyrics from "Africa" by Toto. The post picked up modest traction, earning more than five retweets and 30 likes within ten days2.

How It Spread

The format caught on quickly once other Twitter users started swapping in their own lyrics. On June 19, 2018, user @robeeaquino posted a variation with the lyrics "Ring ring goes the telephone. There's no one home. Operator. We have a problem," pulling in over 690 retweets and 1,500 likes within a week2.

The next day, @ufobri posted a version with the text "you ever wake up and wish you hadn't," hitting 950 retweets and 2,700 likes in under a week2. Then on June 23, @GGFrosteX paired the crying emoji with John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads," and that version blew up with more than 5,700 retweets and 17,000 likes in just three days2.

Two days later, on June 25, 2018, Mashable published an article officially dubbing the format the "Crying Nae Nae," noting it had "everything a meme needs these days: emojis, suspense, and plenty of wide-ranging emotions"1. By that point, the format had largely run its course as a trend, though individual posts kept appearing sporadically.

How to Use This Meme

The Crying Nae Nae format typically follows a simple pattern:

1

Copy the standard emoji Nae Nae figure arrangement (a multi-line block of emoji depicting a dancing figure with arms raised).

2

Replace the happy face emoji with a crying or sad face.

3

Add sad, dramatic, or incongruously emotional text around or above the emoji figure. Song lyrics work especially well, particularly from songs that aren't typically associated with dancing.

Cultural Impact

Mashable's June 2018 coverage framed the Crying Nae Nae as a perfect distillation of internet humor at the time, combining "existential dread" with silly emoji art1. The format fit into a broader 2018 trend of depression memes and sad-but-funny content that was popular across Twitter and Instagram. While short-lived, it demonstrated how quickly a simple emoji remix could spread when it hit the right emotional note.

Fun Facts

The original Crying Nae Nae used "Africa" by Toto, a song that was itself experiencing a meme renaissance in 20182.

The Nae Nae emoji (without the crying) had been a common Twitter format since at least 20151.

Mashable coined the name "Crying Nae Nae" in their coverage, trademarking it jokingly with a ™ symbol1.

The most viral single tweet used John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads," earning over 17,000 likes in three days2.

Frequently Asked Questions