The Tornado

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

I pedaled through the neighborhood, the weather on my mind
The wind was pickin' up and howlin' 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

A little rain never hurt no one, so I kept pressin' on
And I tried to tell myself it's always darkest before the dawn

Lighting 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 touchin' down
So I crawled into a culvert to wait it out

The little bit of courage I had left was almost gone
But I tried to tell myself it's always darkest before the dawn

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 draggin' me to hell

And this was my prayer
"Save me from this terrible nightmare"

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
Yeah, I tried to tell myself it's always darkest before the dawn
So I kept hangin' on

I kept hangin' on

The shadows slowly melted as I was hunkered down
'Til at last the worst was over, the storm was dyin' out
I crept out of that culvert and I went weak in the knees
'Cause what I saw was a somber sight to see

There was nothin' 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 'cause I felt lucky to be alive

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

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

And I keep hangin' on

I keep hangin' on