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What's The 'Do You Remember When We Were All At School' Meme? Sam Browne's Poem And The Memes Explained
Sam Browne, a British poet, has sparked a viral meme, based on a verse from his poem "Silly Billy," in which he asks, "Do you remember when we were all at school?"
The classroom scene he then paints about throwing glue sticks at the ceiling and messing with his teacher, Miss Lovett, aims to highlight the struggles that young men face when navigating masculinity and stepping over pitfalls like misogyny.
He's talked about the poem's meaning at length on his LinkedIn account, but on TikTok and Instagram, the video of his spoken word performance is what's generating viral memes.
So, what's with the memes? Who is poet Sam Browne, and where did the "Do You Remember When We Were All at School" meme come from? Let's explain.
Where Did The 'Do You Remember When We Were All At School' Meme Come From?
Sam Browne originally debuted his poem "Silly Billy," which contains the stanza in question, back in January 2025. The first recorded instance shows Browne in a forest, wearing a tracksuit and donning a Zoomer Perm. He posted it on both Instagram and TikTok.
@sambrownepoetry Silly Billy #poetry #spokenpoetry #spokenword #SA ♬ Staring – Muted
A month later, he shared a new recording, showing himself on stage, reciting the full poem to an audience. It was recorded at an event named One Night Slam in Hackney Wick, London, according to Browne's video description.
The poem starts with Browne talking about a childhood friend named Ben, who he says perished when he fell off a mountain in Scotland while hiking with his family.
Browne flows the memory of learning about Ben's death into the now-famous "Do You Remember When We Were All at School?" line, which occurs at the 0:54-second mark.
@sambrownepoetry Silly Billy #spokenpoetry #poetry #spokenword #SA ♬ original sound – sambrownepoetry
On his LinkedIn account, Browne said that the poem, titled "Silly Billy," is about "misogyny and the social responsibilities of men." He also tagged his post with the hashtag "#feminism."
In his video's comment sections on Instagram and TikTok, it originally received rave reviews. "I normally hate spoken word but this was powerful," said one top comment with over 27,000 likes as of writing.
What Is The 'Do You Remember When We Were All At School' Copypasta?
A copypasta is a batch of text that's copied and pasted all over the internet, usually for comedic effect. It's a solid way to spread memes, as it produces a curiosity gap since people want to know what the copypasta is referencing.
Browne's "Do You Remember When We Were All At School?" verse has become somewhat of a copypasta since it's gone viral. Here it is in full:
Do you remember when we were all at school,
And we were all silly,
And we used to throw glue sticks at the ceiling,
'Cause we wanted to,
And what the fuck was she gonna do.
Miss Lovett, there's 30 of us and one of you
But glue stops sticking,
Lovett's tears had to dry.
I don't think we were malicious, no
Just a bit fucked up inside…
Who Is Poet Sam Browne?
Sam Browne is a young poet originally from Southend, Essex, in the U.K. He's now based in London, where he performs spoken word poetry "addressing urgent issues such as social responsibility, mental health, and identity." Browne graduated from high school in 2022. This is all according to his LinkedIn bio.
He posts content on Instagram at @sambrownex and on TikTok at @sambrownepoetry.
Browne often name-drops "Manosphere" internet figures in his poems, seemingly for a punchy, scroll-stopping effect. Like in one recent video, he starts by naming comedian and podcaster Joe Rogan, whom he apparently dreamed about in a raunchy pseudo-nightmare.
In another slam poetry reading, Browne talked about controversial figure Andrew Tate and supplements, saying, "Masculinity is confusing and I've been taking the lion's mane, but I don't feel like a lion, Mr. Tate."
spitnightsmindset of a CEO 🎤 @sambrownepoetry at our last jazz jam in February 🎷 📽️Process #spokenword #poems #poetry #poem #ceo #stevenbartlett #toxic #toxicmasculinity #mentalhealth #mensmentalhealth #masculine #fitness #mindsetmotivation ♬ son original – SpitNights
How Is The 'Do You Remember When We Were All At School' Meme Evolving?
Browne's use of Manosphere buzzwords has struck a chord with some viewers. He embeds the hyper-masculine references into heartfelt messaging. For some viewers, the whole thing is a bit too sincere, to the point of being cringe, as expressed in brainrot edits that devolve Browne's poetry.
This "cringed out" reaction seems to be why "Do You Remember When We Were All At School?" has become a meme. For instance, some of the earliest memes using the footage ask, "What is he talking about?"
@strawberryshortcake300 BUT GLUE ˢᵗᵒᵖᵖᵉᵈ ˢᵗⁱᶜᵏⁱⁿᵍ.. #sambrowne #fyp ♬ original sound – strawberryshortcake300
At the same time, though, Browne's poem seems to be resonating with viewers. It's got people lip-dubbing it and reciting it to themselves. If Browne's goal is to go viral to get his message out there, he's certainly achieved that.
@q.felicia
What Are Some More 'Do You Remember When We Were All At School' Memes?
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7519481948654423318
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7519099440477555990
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7518868531837193494
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7519609402257673527
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7519518560075418911
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7519457717753351454
For the full history of Do You Remember When We Were All At School, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.
