Nobody returns
No one recovers
Nobody quite goes back

On the day the first storm hit me, I was headed for a fall
I was driving down the thoroughfare of dread
I had no road map to guide me, just the writing on the wall
And "Abandon ye all hope" is what it said.
I was searching for an exit, I was reaching for the brakes
When the air itself exploded like a mine
There was nothing to hold onto but the sorrow and the ache
And the me I'd tried and failed to leave behind

My second storm, this is my proving ground
My second storm, 'cause there's no turning 'round
My second storm, yeah I've been here before
This is -- my second storm

Didn't know there'd be a sequel, never gave it any thought
Because lightning's not supposed to strike you twice
But then, all things being equal, that's a battle that I've fought
All my life without considering the price.
Well, the second one took longer, I was so much more exposed
Than I'd been when I was hiding in that hole
But by now I'd gotten stronger, so my wounded heart arose
And for the first time since my youth, I had a soul.

My second storm, this is my proving ground
My second storm, where I am lost, then found
My second storm, yeah I've been here before
This is -- my second storm, my second storm

No, no, nobody returns, no one recovers
Nobody quite goes back they way they were before
But the storm helps us learn, the storm uncovers
How the "writing on the wall" becomes a door

My second storm, this is my proving ground
My second storm, and there's no turning 'round
My second storm, yeah I've been here before
This is -- my second storm
My second storm, this is my proving ground
My second storm, where I am lost, then found
My second storm, where I am killed, then born
This is -- my second storm, my second storm