You're a Good Man Arthur Morgan

About

You're a Good Man Arthur Morgan is a catchphrase used in reference to the protagonist of Red Dead Redemption 2, Arthur Morgan, who is called a "good man" several times throughout the game by various NPCs when performing a good deed. Throughout the game, Morgan struggles with the idea of being a good man and is unsure if he is one. The quote has inspired memes since as early as 2019. In 2023, an original TikTok sound using the quote went viral, with users often posting videos of Arthur Morgan killing people in elaborate ways over it.

Origin

The earliest known meme to incorporate the quote, "You're a good man Arthur Morgan," was a Matrix bullet dodging meme uploaded to Reddit's /r/reddeadredemption^[1] board on October 21st, 2019 by u/t-h-e-d-u-d-e, garnering over 6,400 upvotes in four years (shown below). The meme references how Arthur feels uncomfortable when he's complimented.

Spread

The quote continued to appear in memes over the following years. On November 19th, 2020, Redditor u/BKBING10 posted a Draw 25 meme to /r/reddeadredemption2^[2] referencing the quote, garnering over 3,700 upvotes in three years (shown below).

On October 29th, 2022, TikToker^[3] @thesverse posted a compilation video consisting of footage from Red Dead Redemption 2, including a scene where Dutch says, "You're a good man Arthur Morgan." The video's original sound was used over 8,000 times over the next nine months. In June 2023, TikTokers began using the sound ironically over footage of Arthur Morgan killing and torturing people during the game, painting him as a bad person. For example, on June 17th, 2023, TikToker^[4] @trippyaliensquad posted a video that gained over 1.3 million views in a month (shown below, left). On July 12th, TikToker^[5] @v_p3r posted a similar video that gained over 6.2 million views in 12 days (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References