Lyrics
[Verse 1] There's a farmhouse on the prairie
Where the warning sirens call
Every spring we watch the heavens
Every year we lose it all
Daddy says this land is ours
Mama says we'll be alright
Then the clouds turn black as midnight
And we disappear from sight
[Chorus] Why do we live in Tornado Alley?
Where the black clouds cross the sky
Why do we build where the wild winds blow
Knowing everything could fly?
Maybe home is more than shelter
Maybe roots won't let us go
Why do we live in Tornado Alley?
I guess it's all we know
[Verse 2] There's a mailbox in the wheat field
And a photograph half torn
A church bell rings at noon today
For everything that's gone
But tomorrow we'll plant again
Underneath that endless blue
'Cause the wind may take our houses
But it can't take what we knew
[Chorus] Why do we live in Tornado Alley?
Where the black clouds cross the sky
Why do we build where the wild winds blow
Knowing everything could fly?
Maybe home is more than shelter
Maybe roots won't let us go
Why do we live in Tornado Alley?
I guess it's all we know
[Bridge] Some call it stubborn
Some call it blind
But the prairie writes a letter
On every heart it binds
The neighbors come with hammers
The trucks roll in with wood
We nail the roof back on again
The way our fathers stood
[Verse 3] There's a little boy by the window
With his suitcase by the door
He asks his mama why stay here
When the sky can shake the floor
She smiles and says we've got memories
Buried underneath this ground
Then the radio starts warning
And the sirens all sound
[Chorus] Why do we live in Tornado Alley?
Where the black clouds cross the sky
Why do we build where the wild winds blow
Knowing everything could fly?
Maybe home is more than shelter
Maybe roots won't let us go
Why do we live in Tornado Alley?
I guess it's all we know
[Final Chorus] Why do we live in Tornado Alley?
Where the black clouds cross the sky
Why do we build where the wild winds blow
Knowing everything could fly?
Maybe home is more than shelter
Maybe roots won't let us go
Why do we live in Tornado Alley?
I guess it's all we know
[Outro] The sirens fade
The fields grow green
The prairie carries on
We stay beneath the restless sky
Waiting for the dawn
Waiting for the dawn