Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas released in 2004, and few one-liners have held up so well as CJ's exhausted, "Ah shit, here we go again." What started out as a quote in an opening cutscene soon grew to be a cultural touchstone, taking over memes, social media, and even celebrity endeavors.

Let's break down why the generic phrase came to be the internet's boilerplate expression for dealing with yet another headache.

Right at the beginning of San Andreas, CJ returns to Los Santos, to be instantly dumped right back into gangland theatrics. After being hassled, he lets out a deep breath, "Ah shit, here we go again" and we're with him. That one line exactly sums dread and resignation. Even though the game came out in 2004, it wasn't until a 2015 YouTube upload by ZMOONCHILD that the meme began gaining traction online.Jump forward to April 2019: green-screened versions of CJ walking into any situation went viral. One tweet from @ChaoticGeekCG gained thousands of retweets, giving birth to infinite mashups, from Kratos falling into battles to humorous TikToks.

Today, the meme runs through subreddits, Instagram reels, and TikTok in fashion, solidly established as pop culture shorthand for, "Brace yourself, trouble's here."

The appeal San Andreas retains today revolves around its quotable lines and raw yet humorous tone. "Ah shit, here we go again" encapsulates that daily fatigue everyone is familiar with: waking up on Monday, handling drama, or watching a clichéd TV cliche for the umpteenth time. The tone of the meme makes it ideal for innumerable settings and that's why celebrities and even musicians have jumped on the bandwagon through collaborations, remixes, and viral content.

Even mainstream outlets such as the Daily Dot feature it as the definitive meme for frustration and burnout.

From a gritty cutscene in 2004 to TikTok gold gone viral in 2025, CJ's timelessness line demonstrates the strength of simplicity. In fewer than five words, "Ah shit, here we go again" evokes universal sentiments of fear, boredom, and irony. It's not only a meme, it's a mood. And as long as life is going to throw curveballs, CJ's sigh of weariness will remain our anthem.Also Read: 5 Rockstar games that got canceled before release