Who Wrote 'It's Raining Tacos'? the Real Story of Creator Parry Gripp
By Alexander Ross
Released on Gripp’s YouTube channel on June 29, 2012, "It's Raining Tacos" clocks in at just one minute and 52 seconds. The arrangement relies on a simple four-chord progression, an upbeat Euro-dance synthesizer pulse, and an unmistakably direct lyric structure. There are no veiled metaphors or convoluted narrative arcs:
"It's raining tacos, from out of the sky / Tacos, no need to ask why / Just open your mouth and close your eyes / It's raining tacos."
The song works because it treats utter nonsense with complete melodic sincerity. Gripp sang the vocal lines through clean, punchy double-tracking, mimicking the vocal energy of children's commercial television while retaining the driving rhythm of power-pop. Animators took notice immediately. British animator BooneBum created a colorful, manic cartoon featuring dancing shells, floating tomatoes, and joyous burritos floating across blue skies. That fan animation became the song's primary visual vessel, eventually racking up well over 200 million views on YouTube alone.
Alexander Ross has covered the video game industry for a decade, writing deep dives on game design, esports tournaments, VR developments, and gaming culture.
