Fight Like You're the Third Monkey on The Ramp to Noah's Ark, and Brother It's Startin' to Rain

Submission 36,363

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About

Fight Like You're the Third Monkey on The Ramp to Noah's Ark, and Brother It's Startin' to Rain is a memorable quote notably used in a 2016 Tweet by MMA fighter Tim Kennedy and appearing in the comedy novel Rash'Tor'Ri by Christopher Woods, published days later. The quote has since become a popular online catchphrase, appearing in numerous videos, image macros and often associated with ape imagery.

Origin

On August 3rd, 2016, Facebook^[1] page 230 grains of diplomacy posted an image of a monkey in a suit holding a gun and looking forward seriously with bottom text reading, "If you're gonna fight, fight like you're the third monkey on the ramp to Noah's Ark. … And brother, it's starting to rain" (shown below). The post gained over 11,000 shares and 1,200 reactions in roughly five years.

On August 4th, Imgur^[2] user TotalSmartAss reuploaded the image, gaining over 50,000 views and 1,300 points in roughly five years.

Spread

On August 5th, 2016, MMA fighter and Twitter^[3] user Tim Kennedy used the quote in a tweet, writing, "If you're gonna fight, fight like you are the third monkey on the ramp to Noah's ark and it's starting to rain" along with a photo of himself shirtless holding an axe over his shoulder (shown below). The post gained over 380 retweets and 1,200 likes in roughly five years.

On August 7th the novel Rash'Tor'Ri by Christopher Woods,^[5] a comedy novel offering a take on the story of Noah, was released. Nearing the end of the book the quote is used (excerpt shown below):

"What was that he said to you? she asked.
"He said, Boy, never fight until you have to. But when it's time to fight, you fight like you're the third monkey on the ramp at Noah's Ark… and brother, it's startin' to rain."
She grinned, "That's it. You even got the voice right."
We were both quiet for a minute.
"I'm gonna miss the old son of a bitch," she muttered.

On August 31st, Arpeggio Advisors^[4] referenced the phrase in an article. On March 24th, 2019, YouTuber^[6] AlexWilkieMMA posted a video in which a man shoots a moving target, faces the camera and then says the phrase, garnering over 1,300 views in a year (shown below).

On June 6th, 2019, Facebook^[9] page Marksman Outdoors shared the original image macro, garnering over 77,000 shares and 2,400 reactions in roughly two years. On June 27th, 2020, YouTuber^[7] TheoTheLeo posted a video of the original image macro voiced over (shown below).

The phrase has since appeared in a number of image macros featuring other monkeys, often used ironically. On March 29th, 2021, Cheezburger^[8] user Bookwyrm55 posted an image macro of a monkey holding three knives along with the quote, garnering 14 likes in a day (shown below).