It’s like TikTok with a dash of Broadway flair! A catchy new trend is taking over the platform, where users are remixing “We Both Reached for the Gun,” a classic tune from the hit musical Chicago, into a meme that’s perfect for any situation.
;They Both Reached For The Gun’ TikTok trend explained!
In the original 1975 musical, as well as the 2002 Oscar-winning movie adaptation starring Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Richard Gere, the song is about manipulating public opinion by spinning false stories. But TikTok users are having fun with the lyrics, applying them literally to scenarios where two people or groups are on a collision course toward conflict. For example, one video showing a face-off between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris has already racked up 1.5 million views. So far, over 30,000 TikTok videos feature the catchy lyrics—fair warning, they might get stuck in your head!
“Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes they both / Oh yes, they both / Oh yes, they both reached for / The gun, the gun, the gun, the gun / Oh yes, they both reached for the gun”
TikTokers are using the song in all kinds of creative ways. One video pairs it with the caption, “When I see a nonchalant boy and a very emotional girl start dating,” while another reads, “Emotionally immature mom vs angry daughter,” as the song from the movie plays in the background.
The song is also popping up in tons of “fancams,” where fans create edits of their favorite TV shows and movies with added soundtracks. One standout example juxtaposes footage from the 2023 blockbusters Barbie and Oppenheimer—nicknamed “Barbenheimer” because of their simultaneous box office success and award season rivalry.
The popularity of “We Both Reached for the Gun” on TikTok has soared so high that it even made it onto the TikTok Billboard Top 50, which ranks the most popular tracks on the app.
Chicago, a musical created by Bob Fosse, Fred Ebb, and John Kander, tells the story of chorus girl Roxie Hart and vaudevillian Velma Kelly, who are both on trial for murder, with their slick lawyer Billy Flynn manipulating the media to sway public opinion. The show is a Broadway legend, known for its dazzling performances and sharp satire of corruption and celebrity culture.
The musical itself is based on a 1926 play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, a reporter who covered two real-life murder trials. In the play, Roxie is accused of killing her lover, and Velma is charged with murdering her husband and sister after catching them in the act.
One of the most iconic scenes in the movie adaptation features Gere as lawyer Flynn, staging a press conference where he spins a false narrative that Roxie and her victim both reached for the gun. This version of events wins Roxie public sympathy, media attention, and a boost in her career. The scene cleverly mixes literal footage of the press conference with images of Flynn as a ventriloquist and Roxie as a puppet on his lap, while a chorus of journalists dance like puppets in the background.