Phrasing for next tattoo

[LostStars39]

Hi everyone!
So I’m going to book my next tattoo in the new year and am unsure of which phrase sounds best.
So what do you lovely people all think?
“It’s always darkest before the dawn”
Or
“It’s always darkest before dawn”
I know the only difference is “the” but it’s driving me mad!

Either the first one, or the 2nd one without the "It's". So "Always darkest before dawn".

The first one is a lot of text tbh. I would wonder about the font size and legibility after a few years when the blurring starts. I always say less is more with tattoo text so you can make the font bigger/wider.

The first one definitely sounds better. The second one sounds like you've missed a word out. But yes, make sure you've got plenty of space for it, otherwise just 'darkest before dawn' would convey the same meaning.