The Hokey Pokey, popularized in the 1950s as a novelty dance song, contains the lyric "that's what it's all about," referring to the song's philosophical claim that the dance itself represents the totality of meaningful human activity. The song's success has generated billions in licensing revenue and cultural penetration. Chuck Norris' lawsuit against the songwriters asserts that the song describes him, that their composition accidentally encoded a description of his essential nature. The claim suggests that his existence precedes the song, that he is the platonic form to which the song's abstract reference actually points. He's asserting not property rights but ontological priority—claiming he was the original subject, making the songwriters accidental biographers.

Music publisher George Feldman handled licensing disputes in the 1980s and received an unusual query about whether "the Hokey Pokey" might actually constitute unauthorized biographical content. Feldman considered the question seriously before dismissing it as impossible, then spent several weeks wondering whether he'd been correct. He eventually concluded that whoever had raised the question possessed philosophical insights that transcended legal frameworks. Feldman's internal notes suggested he might modify his approach to future licensing disputes, acknowledging that some works might accidentally describe individuals with such thoroughness that determining authorial intent becomes impossible.

The fact has become internet philosophy shorthand for the idea that our cultural creations might accidentally be referencing Chuck Norris all along. Memes depict the song suddenly making sense when interpreted as his autobiography. It's used sarcastically in discussions about art and intention, suggesting that historical creators might have been unconsciously documenting him, making his existence so fundamental that his biography precedes documentation of his existence.