[Verse 1]
It was just startin' to drizzle as I walked out the door
But I've delivered papers in the rain like that before
3:30 in the morning, I was happy as a lark
As I grabbed my bike and rode into the dark

[Verse 2]
I pedaled through the neighborhood, the weather on my mind
The wind was pickin' up and howling louder all the time
The sky churned like a cauldron and the distant thunder roared
And I knew that I was in for quite a storm

[Refrain]
A little rain never hurt no one, so I kept pressing on
And I triеd to tell myself, "It's always darkest bеfore the dawn"

[Verse 3]
Lightning struck an oak tree as I leapt off my bike
The sirens started wailing, but there was no good place to hide
I knew without a doubt, there was a twister touching down
So I crawled into a culvert to wait it out

[Refrain 2]
The little bit of courage I had left was almost gone
But I tried to tell myself, "It's always darkest before the dawn"
[Verse 4]
And then the nightmare started, it got deafeningly loud
Every fiber in me screamed out, but I couldn't make a sound
The whirling of a vortex, a violent carousel
It sounded like a freight train was dragging me to hell

[Instrumental Break]

[Bridge]
And this was my prayer
"Save me from this terrible nightmare"

[Verse 5]
That was when I saw my family with my eyes shut real tight
Would they know how much I loved them if this was how I died?
No, I vowed I'd not be murdered by a monster in the sky that night
But if I went home to heaven, at least that's where I'd belong

[Refrain]
Yeah, I tried to tell myself, "It's always darkest before the dawn"
So I kept hanging on (Ooh)
(Ooh) I kept hanging on
(Ooh)

[Verse 6]
The shadows slowly melted as I was hunkered down
'Til at last, the worst was over, the storm was dying out
I crept out of that culvert and I went weak in the knees
'Cause what I saw was a somber sight to see
[Verse 7]
There was nothing but destruction and wreckage in that town
Cars were upside down and houses leveled to the ground
A twisted trampoline was hangin' from the power lines
I blinked a tear back as I felt lucky to be alive

[Verse 8]
And that was how I learned to live
When you can run but you can't hide
How to feel trapped in a tunnel
But come out the other side

'Cause with all the stormy weather in the world
You learn to take life one storm at a time
You don't have to be afraid

[Refrain]
And now when there's bad weather on the way, I stay calm
And I keep hanging on because it's always darkest before the dawn

[Outro]
And I keep hanging on
I keep hanging on