The Tornado

Verse 1:
       D
It was just startin' to drizzle as I walked out the door
    G                                             Em
But I've delivered papers in the rain like that before
  D
3:30 in the morning, I was happy as a lark
     G                   A        D
As I grabbed my bike and rode into the dark
  D
I peddled through the neighbourhood, the weather on my mind
    G                                                 Em
The wind was pickin' up and howling louder all the time
    D
The sky turned like a cauldron and the distant thunder roared
      G               A           D
And I knew that I was in for quite a storm
  G                                   A
a little rain never hurt no one, so I kept pressing on
      D                                 G                        A
And I tried to tell myself, "It's always darkest before the dawn"

Verse 2:
D
Lightning struck an oak tree as I left off my bike
    G                                                      Em
The siren started wailing but there was no good place to hide
  D
I knew without a doubt, there was a twister touching down
     G              A             D
So I crawled into a culvert to wait it out
    G                           A
The little bit of courage I had left was almost gone
      D                                 G                        A
But I tried to tell myself, "It's always darkest before the dawn"

Verse 3:
    G                                  Bm
And then the nightmare started, it got deafeningly loud
      D                              A
Every fibre in me screamed out but I couldn't make a sound
    G                       Gb      Bm
The whirling of a vortex, a violent carousel
   G                                A
It sounded like a freight train was dragging me to hell

Instrumental:
   G F Gb Bm
   G F Gb
   Bb Ab A D
   Bb Ab A

    Dm   Eb   A
And this was my prayer
C       Bb        G        A         Em D G A
Save me from this terrible nightmare

Verse 4:
         G                            D               A
That was when I saw my family with my eyes shut real' tight
           G                             Bm             A
Would they know how much I loved them if this was how I died?
      G                              D              A        Em    D A
No, I vowed I'd not be murdered by a monster in the sky that night
       G                               A
But if I went home to heaven, at least that's where I'd belong
        D                                 G                         A
Yeah, I tried to tell myself, "It's always darkest before the dawn"
            D       Bm G  D Bm G
So I kept hanging on
               D  Bm G
I kept hanging on

Instrumental: D Bm G A

Verse 5:
    E
The shadows slowly melted as I was hunkered down
         A                                               Gbm
'Till at last, the worst was over, the storm was dying out
  E
I crept out of that covert and I went weak in the knees
              A          B           E
'Cause what I saw, was a somber sight to see
          E
There was nothing but destruction and wreckage in that town
A                                                Gbm
Cars were upside down and houses levelled to the ground
  E
a twisted trampoline was hangin' from the power line
            A                   B            E
I blinked a tear back as I felt lucky to be alive
             A                                  E                 B
And that was how I learned to live when you can run but you can't hide
       A                                 Dbm           B
How to feel trapped in a tunnel but come out the other side
            A                             E
'Cause with all the stormy weather in the world
              B             Dbm                        A           B
You learnt to take life one storm at a time, you don't have to be afraid
    A                                    B
And now, when there's bad weather on the way, I stay calm
    E                             A                 B        E    Dbm A  E Dbm A
And I keep hanging on because it's always darkest before the dawn

Outro:
                   E  Dbm A   E A
And I keep hanging on
               E  Dbm A  E A E
I keep hanging on