Humor & Everyday Life
It's Raining Iguanas
When South Florida gets cold enough, cold-stunned iguanas can lose their grip and fall from trees. “It's Raining Iguanas” turns that very real Florida weather phenomenon into a full-blown disco forecast.
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Good evening, South Florida Clear skies tonight Temperatures falling after midnight Fort Lauderdale, forty-seven Plantation, forty-five Bring in the pets Cover the plants Tomorrow Sunshine North wind And a slight chance of raining iguanas A slight chance of what Iguanas Falling from the sky Technically from the trees Oh, good That's much more normal When the temperature drops And the cold wind blows There's one little thing Every Floridian knows You might wanna look up It's raining iguanas Look out below It's raining iguanas There goes another one Forty-eight Hold on tight Forty-five Not looking good Forty-two Watch that tree Uh-oh Reptile precipitation Cold front hits Florida Panic fills the air Someone found the winter coat They wear three days a year Boots come out Scarves come out Somebody found one glove Forty-six degrees How will we survive Be strong, South Florida Is the pool heated Focus, woman Meanwhile Up in the trees A different emergency Cold-blooded reptiles Getting colder Moving slower Getting slower Hanging on Hang on, baby Hanging Oh He did not have this It's raining iguanas Look out below It's raining iguanas When that cold wind blows What do I need A hard hat A hard hat That's a big iguana Rain Umbrella Sun Shade Hurricane We've got lists And plywood ready But nobody explained What to do When the weather app says Forty-three degrees Clear skies North wind Chance of reptile Moderate Check the radar You can't see an iguana on radar Then check the trees Cold stunned iguanas Are falling across South Florida Please use caution Beneath large trees Do we have accumulation totals I don't think We measure them that way We do now Morning comes Sun comes up Open up the door One by the hedge Two by the tree Three There's more One by the mailbox Two beside the walk I've got eight I've got eleven Does the one on the roof count Total accumulation This is not snow We know Stop calling it accumulation Twelve inches of iguana That's not how Actually That one's about six feet They're not dead They look dead They're not dead That one's upside down Cold stunned So they're gonna wake up When they get warm Every single part Of that sentence bothers me Hallelujah I don't think that's good news Then word gets around South Florida comes outside Everybody's outside Counting dinosaurs One Two Three Four Five Six How many are under that tree I don't know They're stacked Cold stunned iguanas Collection locations Oh We're doing this now Pick 'em up From the sidewalk From the lawn Under the palm tree How many you got Nine How many you got Fourteen I need a bigger counting system What are we doing Florida That's not an answer It usually is Where are they Check the trees Fort Lauderdale Falling Plantation Falling Miami Falling Tonight's precipitation type Green Green It's raining iguanas Look out below It's raining iguanas Check the trees before you go Forty-five Watch the palms Forty-two Sound the alarm Forecast calls for clear skies With scattered dinosaurs Scattered Scattered Accumulation Check your yard What's the forecast Iguanas What's falling Iguanas What's the radar say Check the trees What's tomorrow Seventy-eight Of course it is It's raining iguanas It's raining iguanas It's raining iguanas Cold tonight Correct Sunny tomorrow Correct Iguanas in between Correct Accumulation totals We're still counting Add one
Behind the story
Why This Song Exists
“It's Raining Iguanas” exists because Florida weather apparently looked at rain, wind and hail and decided the forecast still lacked personality. The phenomenon is real. Green iguanas are ectothermic reptiles. When South Florida temperatures drop far enough, they can become cold-stunned, slow down dramatically and become temporarily immobilized. If that happens while an iguana is perched in a tree, it can lose its grip and fall. Yes. Large reptiles can actually fall out of trees during a Florida cold snap. And there is one particularly important part of the real story: Cold-stunned does not necessarily mean dead. An iguana lying motionless on the ground can warm up as temperatures rise and become active again, which is why wildlife officials have issued guidance during major cold events. That is the factual foundation of the song. The disco weather report is where I get involved. “Reptile precipitation” is not an official meteorological category. Nobody is issuing an iguana accumulation map. But once the true forecast can reasonably be summarized as: “It’s cold, so watch out for falling lizards,” subtlety is no longer required. Florida supplied the weather. I supplied the disco ball.
Why This Sound
Disc Two opens by treating falling cold-stunned iguanas as if South Florida has received a glamorous new weather phenomenon. Monumental gospel-disco makes the forecast absurdly celebratory while everyone performs it with complete seriousness.
- Collection
- Chicken of the Trees
- Sound
- Disco · Gospel Disco
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