At Dawn We Ride, also referred to as We Ride At Dawn, is a battle cry frequently added to memes featuring beloved characters engaged in battles, or people and animals dressed in armor. The phrase plays on the trope of warriors preparing to embark on a noble quest or battle at the break of dawn, a common motif in fantasy books and movies.
When it comes to memes, We Ride At Dawn is typically used in a lighthearted or exaggerated way.
Origins and Spread
The exact origin of the phrase “We Ride at Dawn” in its meme form is difficult to pinpoint, but its roots lie in historical and literary tropes that depict warriors, knights, or adventurers setting out on quests or battles early in the morning. The phrase has been referenced in Lord of the Rings as well as the 1981 film Clash of the Titans. In the latter, one character advises a woman apt to go on his quest with him, “Then sleep now. We ride at dawn.”
Lord of the Rings version
A different iteration of the phrase appears in the 2003 fantasy hit The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. There, Aragorn advises King Theoden they’ll help Gondor against attackers, proclaiming, “We have til dawn. Then, we must ride.”
As the internet meme version developed, people began using the phrase sarcastically to hype up mundane tasks or images. In 2010, it was paired with a since-deleted “horse girl of the apocalypse” image, and in 2011, in a now-defunct Skyrim webcomic. It became especially popular on platforms like Reddit, Twitter, and Tumblr, where users would pair it with images of animals, people in costume, or pop culture characters getting ready for a comical “mission.”
Meme examples
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