15 Songs About Storms (Both Bad Weather And Stormy Times)

We’ve all been through storms in our lives.

Some were literal storms, i.e. bad weather.

Others were figurative storms, meaning a time of upheaval in our lives.

The one thing both types of storms have in common is that they pass.

That is why most songs about storms are also songs about hope.

They remind us that no matter how bad things may be right now, the difficult times will pass and things will improve.

Keep reading for a list of beautiful songs that perfectly capture the feeling of finding ourselves in a storm, be it literal or figurative.

 

Songs About Storms

Most of the following songs are about actual storms, but some of them are more metaphorical. The storms they refer to symbolize turbulent times in our lives, times of upheaval and change. And most are, in the end, songs of hope.

 

Eye Of The Storm by Bullet for My Valentine

If you like high-energy, high-tempo rock songs, you’ll love the Eye of the Storm by Bullet for My Valentine. Eye of The Storm was written in 2008 in a hotel room in LA.

Lyricists Matt Tuck, Jason James, Michael Paget, and Michael Thomas wanted the song to represent chaos, danger, and nastiness – the emotions one goes through when caught in a hurricane or a storm.

It also talks about Mother Nature wreaking havoc and describes the storm as ‘melting down windows’ while you try to barricade yourself against nature’s fury.

 

Hello Hurricane by Switchfoot

Switchfoot wrote Hello Hurricane as a tribute to the survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

In an interview, they talked about a woman from New Orleans who had lost her home and her leg to Hurricane Katrina. She said the hurricane may have taken away her material belongings and her limb, but it cannot take away her spirit and her divine love.

In the end, that is all humanity has left: love for each other. A storm cannot take that away and that is what Hello Hurricane is all about. “With love as my song, I will overcome. In surrender to Divine Love, I will find my strength.”

 

Tornado by Little Big Town

Natalie Hemby and Delta Maid of Little Big Town wanted to pen a song about a Tornado in a “good way.”

They wanted the lyrics to also convey the change their band was undergoing which felt like a “storm brewing in their camp.” A storm comes once in a while and it is so powerful that it changes everything in its path. But storms can even mean new beginnings.

The lyrics of Tornado may also be a metaphor for the fury of a woman scorned. She is a force of nature and a storm that threatens to destroy her wayward man and the house they built together.

 

Thunderstorm/Hurricane by Allison Moorer

In Thunderstorm/Hurricane, Allison Moorer describes being caught in a thunderstorm. Allison was going through an emotional time when she penned this song about her sister Shelby.

As the singer walks through the storm, she hopes that the rainwater will cleanse her. But she also hopes that it will make her disappear as if she was never there.

While it was well-received, many fans felt that Thunderstorm/Hurricane was too brief and that it should have been longer with a lot more guitar work at the end.

 

The Next Storm by Frank Turner

Turner explained the meaning of The Next Storm to The Sun saying, “emerging from a storm shelter to find out that the tornado has destroyed your whole town but the storm has passed and you and your family are safe. So, it is time to start rebuilding.”

Rejoice in the fact that you are alive, no matter what. Stay upbeat, and rebuild. Many fans reported feeling upbeat listening to Turner’s The Next Storm, especially during the pandemic.

 

Storm by Lynyrd Skynyrd

Lynyrd Skynrd released Storm as a tribute to their bassist Ean Evans who passed away from cancer in 2009. Despite the premise of the song, it has a positive meaning. Its lyrics state that the rain won’t fall every day, the storm will pass, and the sun will shine again.

 

Living In The Eye Of The Storm by Trapt

Every once in a while, you stumble across a song that grips you from the first riff. Living in The Eye of The Storm by Trapt is one of those songs. It captures your emotions instantaneously.

Trapt wrote Living in The Eye of The Storm to metaphorically represent the financial collapse of 2008 and 2009. Everywhere they looked, they saw chaos – people losing their homes and two wars going on.

Chris Taylor Brown of Trapt felt that something crooked was going on, which inspired them to write about it. And what better way to do so than compare it with a storm?

Living in The Eye of The Storm official music video depicted a military setting with combat vets fighting the enemy and the loss they suffer when their fellow soldier dies.

 

Ridin’ The Storm Out by REO Speedwagon

There is an interesting story behind REO Speedwagon’s Ridin’ The Storm Out. The band’s guitarist Gary Richrath and lead singer Kevin Cronin decided to play a prank on their tour manager by “pretending to get lost” during a snowstorm.

It turns out that they got lost for real in the process and the snowstorm got heavier. Soon the situation turned rather dangerous and they had to ‘ride the storm out’. Gary wrote the song a few days after the incident.

 

Hurricane by Theory Of A Deadman

Tyler Connolly of Theory of a Deadman wrote Hurricane when he was going through “the roughest period of his life.” There was a hurricane of emotions that beat him up physically and emotionally.

Connolly later said in an interview that the hurricane was a metaphor for the internal turmoil he was undergoing. However, the lyrics also reveal at the end that he is the hurricane that destroys everything in his own life.

 

Every Storm Runs Out Of Rain by Gary Allan

I saw you standing in the middle of the thunder and lightning
I know you’re feeling like you just can’t win, but you’re trying
It’s hard to keep on keepin’ on when you’re being pushed around
Don’t even know which way is up, you just keep spinning down, ’round, down

Every storm runs, runs out of rain
Just like every dark night turns into day
Every heartache will fade away
Just like every storm runs, runs out of rain

Gary Allan co-wrote this song with Matt Warren and Hillary Lindsey for their album Set You Free. Matt came up with the line ‘Every Storm Runs Out of Rain’ when he was going through writer’s block.

Inspiration struck suddenly when he was mowing his lawn. He realized that is what storms are about. They eventually run out, even though things may seem extremely hard when they are happening.

The 2012 hit went on to be Allan’s first-chart topper as a co-writer and 5th #1 country song. We easily could have included this song in our list of songs about rain, but decided it fit better here.

 

Storm by Soundgarden

Storm is Soundgarden’s most underrated song. The Seattle grunge band touched on every possible atmospheric element you can think of with this song.

They went heavy, fast, slow, dissonant, melodic, psychedelic, folk, blues, and metal. The drums in the song even conjure up images of dark clouds.

In the lyrics ‘The storm has weakened minds of steel, the rain to capture hopeless ones’, storm and rain can be metaphors for the crushing reality of life.

 

After The Storm Blows Through by Maddie & Tae

Maddie Marlow and Tae Dye penned this song after they moved to Nashville to begin their musical career. They were supposed to write a happy song, but Maddie just could not get over the fact that her best friend back home was depressed since her father had died recently.

Maddie compared the event to a storm but assures her friend that ‘she will be with her’ even as the wind blows and the rain comes down hard. She says that she has an umbrella to protect her and that even though she is hurting so much now, the skies will be blue again and the sun will shine.

 

Thunder Rolls by Garth Brooks

Many fans report that they love listening to this song when it is thundering outside. No surprise there since the artist used the sounds of real thunder in the song.

The lyrics of Thunder Rolls aren’t so much about storms as they are about cheating and an abusive husband. The wife awaits his return from his mistress just as the storm moves in.

I would have included Thunder Rolls in my article on songs about secret relationships, except this one is obviously no longer a secret. Garth Brooks went on to add another stanza during the live performance of the song, which was not included in the commercial version:

She paces down the hallway and through the bedroom door
Takes out the pistol kept in the dresser drawer
she tells the woman in the mirror, he won’t do this again
tonight will be the last time she’ll wonder where he’s been
And the thunder rolls…

 

Brave This Storm by Trivium

Trivium wrote Brave this Storm in continuation to In Waves and Black. But it had a lot more aggression than those two songs.

The song isn’t about regular storms per se. Instead, it talks about an impending storm that will eventually crush humanity. Brave This Storm urges us to think about whether we should all just give up or do something while we can and save ourselves.

Through Brave The Storm, Trivium asks listeners to give a thought about how we may face extinction. The lyrics are all about how humanity has engineered its hell and how we are the catalysts of our end.

 

Storm by Lifehouse

Jason Wade of Lifehouse wrote Storm when he was just 16 and going through hard times. It describes being caught in a storm hoping to see the savior who would turn the darkness into light. In that sense, the song can be about a lover, God, or a parent.

Being underwater and in the storm can make you feel hopeless. But no matter what you are going through, there is always something greater to live for.

Wade later described having a lot of fun recording this song. But while he wrote it, he wanted to capture the feeling of someone feeling lost and confused during turmoil. No matter what or who is around, they still feel alone.

 

Songs About Bad Weather: Final Thoughts

We tried to include songs about storms in a variety of different genres, but I know there are probably a lot of good songs we missed. Both ones about actual storms and about metaphorical storms.

If you have suggestions for other great songs about bad weather, especially ones in genres underrepresented on this list, please let us know in a comment below. We will be happy to add new songs to this list during the next update.

For more songs with a somewhat related theme, check out our article of songs about boats, sailors, and the sea.