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 larkAs 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