[Verse 1]
You are running ‘round a dead-end street
Chasing down your enemy
When he’s on the ground, beneath your final blow
He cries, "Don’t you recognize me? I’m your brother"

[Chorus]
When the rains come, when the rains come
Will you build your boat or burn your neighbor’s down?

[Verse 2]
You are sacred now, in your bones and skin
In your fortress walls, gossamer thin
And you dream at night on a feather bed
That rests upon the backs of the dead

[Chorus]
When the trumpets sound, when the trumpets sound
When the trumpets sound, will you drown them out as well?

[Bridge]
What is left to purify?
Can’t you see your reflection in the floodwater?
Will you claim your name as it is wiped from the stone?
Will you tremble at the sight of the harbinger?
[Chorus]
When the rains come, when the rains come, when the rains come
Will you build your boat or burn your neighbor’s down?