Troy

It's always dark before the dawn

The night is black, the streets are steamin'
The air is cracked with the sound of screamin'
Two gangs are out to even the score
In the alley with the raps and burned-out store
With bricks and chains and a taste for pain
Every man falls prey to the war on his vein

But the leader called Blade still standin' tall
His shadow cast big on the bloody wall
His face is etched with the life he chose
And the sweat ran thick to drench his clothes
He rules the street with an iron claw
And everybody knows that his word is law

Twenty-four seven he felt deprived
And every day was a new way to survive
His dreams of gettin' out seemed far away

But he believed they'd still come true one day

It's always dark before the dawn
But it's gonna take guts to keep pushin' on
Might break your back, might make you cry
But nothin' beats a failure except to try

Another night, another fight
And Blade's old man wanna argue 'til the daylight
"Get out the gang if you wanna grow old
Or you'll wind up in the alley with a shotgun hole"
The tears burned his daddy's face
As Blade jumped up and stormed out the place

In the middle of the night tryin' to clear his mind
He walks to where the city and the dump combine
A car flies past and a gun explodes
And the leader called Blade lies in the road
With one last breath to end his years
He wakes up from the nightmare sweatin' fear

He wants to laugh but he aches to cry
Because the dream seems real and he knows why
With a big wet arm he wipes his face

Just to be sure, checks out the place
The whole room's dark but the TV's bright
With the videos rockin' on Friday night
And on the TV screen are breakdancin' mean
Are two fellas not more than seventeen

They flip, spin, stop on a dime
And make you wanna think about the big time
"Well, I can break like that, there ain't no doubt
This here is gonna be my ticket out"

It's always dark before the dawn
But it's gonna take guts to keep pushin' on
Might break your back, might make you cry
But nothin' beats a failure except to try

Blade tried hard to become a breakdancer
Just couldn't cut it so it couldn't be the answer
He thought about quittin', givin' up all hope
Goin' back to the streets with guns and the dope
But the thought grew hot and turned his guts
To try to go back now, I've got to be nuts
So he kept on pushin' and didn't look back
And didn't even blink if bones were cracked
He was bustin' up shop, puttin' brothers to shame
Because the best on the blocks were what he became

Then the big break came right on time

The first big step out of the grind
A radio station had advertised
A breakdance competition with a fresh first prize
To be on stage the next Friday night
With the gang, the glamour and all the bright lights
Blade went strong to prove he's the best
So we made him our special guest

The stage was lit, showtime was here
This was the moment he'd come to fear

His heart started pumpin' like never before
When the lights went down and the people roared
He hit the stage, went to work
And then the whole damn place just went berserk

It's always dark before the dawn
But it's gonna take guts to keep pushin' on
Might break your back, might make you cry
But nothin' beats a failure except to try

Ah yeah, woo!

Alright now, I want everybody in the house tonight, come on
Everybody in the house tonight to put your hands together
Come on, help me out now, yeah, let's do it
Yeah, yeah, come on, baby
Get up, girl, show your stuff
Check it out now, woo, come on

Yeah, come on now
Check it out, y'all

Get this, huh
Get, get, get, get on up, y'all
And clap your hands, come on
Get, get, get, get on up, y'all
And clap your hands to the beat, come on
Get, get, get, get on up, y'all
And clap your hands, oh baby
Get, get, get, get on up, y'all
And clap your hands, don't you know?
It's always dark before the dawn

But you gotta keep, keep pushin' on
It's always dark before the dawn

But you, but you, but you, but you
Gotta keep, keep, keep, keep pushin' on
Yeah, alright, everybody, we love you
Goodnight, everybody