[Verse 1]
Every summer when the air turns still
And the gulf goes dark as sin
Old folks whisper through the screen door cracks
“The devil’s riding in again”
He comes dressed in a wall of clouds
With a grin made out of rain
Brings the thunder like a preacher’s curse
And the wind screams out my name
[Pre-Chorus]
At the edge where the black tide rose
I could hear that old voice say
“Boy, I come for what you love
And I take it all away”
And I stood with my boots in mud
Watching heaven fade from sight
With the devil in the hurricane
Spinning closer every night
[Chorus]
The devil brings the storm each year
(Brings the storm each year)
Rides that wind and feeds on fear
(Feeds on fear)
Every season when the sky turns black
(The sky turns black)
He comes rolling, he comes back
[Verse 2]
He took the porch and he took the barn
Left the cross still hanging there
Tore the roof from my daddy’s house
Like he never knew a prayer
Mama cried in the candlelight
While the windows shook like bones
She said, “Son, when the devil knocks
Even strong men shake alone”
[Pre-Chorus]
At the line where the levee broke
I could hear that laughter rise
One long howl through the shattered dark
Like hell itself had come alive
And I stood with my hands clenched tight
But the storm don’t hear your pride
When the devil wants your little world
He just lets the water decide
[Chorus]
The devil brings the storm each year
(Brings the storm each year)
Rides that wind and feeds on fear
(Feeds on fear)
Every season when the sky turns black
(The sky turns black)
He comes rolling, he comes back
[Bridge]
He lives inside that spinning eye
Where the silence feels like death
He waits there with a patient smile
And steals another breath
No church bell ever scared him off
No prayer ever changed his path
He just circles back with southern winds
And leaves us counting what we have
[Chorus]
The devil brings the storm each year
(Brings the storm each year)
Rides that wind and feeds on fear
(Feeds on fear)
Every season when the sky turns black
(The sky turns black)
He comes rolling, he comes back
[Outro]
He comes back
(he comes back)
With the wind and rain
(every season again)