"Wonderwall" is Oasis' 1995 single that spawned an internet joke mocking amateur guitarists who play it at every gathering, starting with a 2012 Scumbag Steve style image macro and the later catchphrase "Anyway, Here's Wonderwall".

Where did Wonderwall come from?

Noel Gallagher wrote the song for Oasis' 1995 album (What's the Story) Morning Glory. The meme emerged in March 2012 when Weknowmemes posted a "Scumbag Amateur Guitar Player" image macro, which reached FunnyJunk and other aggregators later that year.

What does Wonderwall mean?

In the song, "wonderwall" refers to a saving or beloved person. Online, Urban Dictionary defines the verb "to wonderwall" as ruining a social event with mediocre guitar playing, and the meme pins that cliche on any novice musician defaulting to the same four chords.

How do you use Wonderwall?

Users typically caption a photo of anyone holding a guitar, ukulele, banjo, or similar instrument with "Anyway, Here's Wonderwall". The line works best when aimed at a visibly amateur player.

Is Wonderwall still popular?

Its meme life carried through the mid-2010s, with the Tumblr catchphrase showing up on mainstream sites like IGN by February 2014. The song itself stays a karaoke and beginner-guitar staple.

Wonderwall

2012catchphraseclassic

Published November 15, 2026

"Wonderwall" is the 1995 Oasis single whose easy chord progression made it the cliche choice for amateur guitarists at parties. By late 2013, Tumblr users were captioning any photo of someone holding a guitar or ukulele with "Anyway, Here's Wonderwall," turning the song's reputation into a running internet joke.

catchphrase memes music memes tumblr memes image macro memes delayed virality memes

Overview

Two overlapping formats carry the joke. An older image macro, "Scumbag Amateur Guitar Player," layers a photo of a grinning guitarist with text like "I don't know that one…here let me play 'Wonderwall' again," riffing on the Scumbag Steve template3. The newer and more common version is the catchphrase "Anyway, Here's Wonderwall," pasted under photos of anyone cradling a guitar, ukulele, banjo, or other stringed instrument5.

Both formats poke fun at the same scene: a self-satisfied amateur breaking out an acoustic at a gathering and launching into the same four chords every time. The humor works whether the pictured musician is a real friend or a fictional character, since the song's reputation does the heavy lifting5.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

We Know Memes / Tumblr (viral spread)

Date

2012

Written and co-produced by Noel Gallagher, "Wonderwall" appeared on October 2, 1995 on Oasis' second album (What's the Story) Morning Glory, with a single release following on October 308. Its four-chord progression and sing-along chorus made it a default pick for beginner guitarists at parties, a reputation Gallagher himself noted in a June 2002 Guitarist magazine interview, recalling a Manchester guitar shop with a sign banning customers from playing the song inside4.

A meme version arrived about 17 years later. On March 14, 2012, Weknowmemes posted "Scumbag Amateur Guitar Player," an image macro of a grinning guitarist captioned "I don't know that one…here let me play 'Wonderwall' again," based on the Scumbag Steve template3.

How It Spread

By September 17, 2012, the Weknowmemes image had reached FunnyJunk6 along with 9gag and other aggregators. That summer, Liam Gallagher performed "Wonderwall" with his band Beady Eye at the London 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony on August 124. Two days later, YouTuber Lori B uploaded British boy band One Direction covering the song, a clip Buzzfeed1 wrote up alongside HuffPost2.

By late 2013 the catchphrase version took hold. On December 10, YouTuber Julia Banks uploaded a ukulele parody titled "Anyways Here's Wonderwall," rewriting the opening line to call out Christmas chatter4. Across Tumblr, users began applying the line to any photo of a guitar-holder5, and by February 2014 it had reached mainstream entertainment sites like IGN, which captioned a Walking Dead character holding a guitar with the phrase7.

Timeline

1995-10-02

Oasis releases (What's the Story) Morning Glory, including "Wonderwall".

1995-10-30

"Wonderwall" released as a single.

2002-06

Noel Gallagher tells Guitarist magazine about a Manchester guitar shop that banned customers from playing the song.

2012-03-14

"Scumbag Amateur Guitar Player" image macro appears on Weknowmemes.

2012-08-12

Liam Gallagher performs "Wonderwall" with Beady Eye at the London Olympics closing ceremony.

2012-08-14

YouTuber Lori B uploads a One Direction cover of "Wonderwall," picked up by Buzzfeed and HuffPost.

2013-12-10

Julia Banks uploads "Anyways Here's Wonderwall," a ukulele parody that popularizes the catchphrase.

2014-02-07

IGN captions a Walking Dead photo with "Anyway, Here's Wonderwall."

How to Use This Meme

A typical post pairs a photo of someone holding a guitar, ukulele, banjo, or similar stringed instrument with the caption "Anyway, Here's Wonderwall." The joke works best when the subject looks earnest or amateur, mirroring the cliche of defaulting to the same Oasis song at every party.