Hurricane
Bob Dylan
Am F Am F Am F
Am F
AmPistol shots ring out in the Fbarroom night
AmEnter Patty Valentine from the Fupper hall
AmShe sees the bartender in a Fpool of blood
AmCries out "My God they Fkilled them all!"
CHere comes the story of the FHurricaneG
CThe man the authorities Fcame to blame
DmFor something that he never Cdone
DmPut in a prison cell but Cone Emtime
He could have Ambeen the Fchampion of the CworldG
Am F Am F
AmThree bodies lyin’ there does FPatty see
And Amanother man named Bello, movin’ Faround mysteriously
Am“I didn’t do it,” he says, and he Fthrows up his hands
“I was Amonly robbin’ the register, I Fhope you understand
CFG
CI saw them leavin’,” he says, and he stops
CF
C“One of us had better Fcall up the cops”
DmAnd so Patty calls the Ccops
DmAnd they arrive on the Cscene with their Emred lights Amflashin’
In the Fhot New Jersey CnightG
Am F Am F
AmMeanwhile, far away in Fanother part of town
Rubin AmCarter and a couple of Ffriends are drivin’ around
AmNumber one contender for the Fmiddleweight crown
Had Amno idea what kinda shit was Fabout to go down
CFG
CWhen a cop pulled him over to the side of the road
CF
CJust like the time before and the Ftime before that
In DmPaterson that’s just the way things Cgo
If you’Dmre black you might as well Cnot show Emup on the Amstreet
’Less you Fwanna draw the CheatG
Am F Am F
Alfred AmBello had a partner and he had a Frap for the cops
Him and AmArthur Dexter Bradley were just out Fprowlin’ around
He Amsaid, “I saw two men runnin’ out, they Flooked like middleweights
AmJumped into a white car with Fout-of-state plates”
CFG
CAnd Miss Patty Valentine just Fnodded her head
CCop said, “Wait a minute, Fboys, this one’s not dead”
So they Dmtook him to the infirmarCy
DmAnd though this man could hardly Csee
They Emtold him he could AmidentifFy the guilty CmenG
Am F Am F
AmFour in the mornin’ and they Fhaul Rubin in
They Amtook him to the hospital and they Fbrought him upstairs
The Amwounded man looks up through his Fone dyin’ eye
"Say, Amwhy’d you bring him in here for? He Fain’t the guy!”
CYes, here’s Fthe story Gof the Hurricane
CF
CThe man the authorities Fcame to blame
DmFor somethin’ that he never Cdone
DmPut in a prison cell, but Cone Emtime he could-a Ambeen
The Fchampion of the CworldG
Am F Am F
AmFour months later, the Fghettos are in flame
AmRubin’s in South America Ffightin’ for his name
While AmArthur Dexter Bradley’s still in the Frobbery game
And the Amcops are puttin’ the screws to him lookin’ for Fsomebody to blame
CFG
C“Remember that murder that happened in a bar?
CF
CRemember you said you saw the Fgetaway car?
You Dmthink you’d like to play ball with the Claw?
DmThink it might-a been that fighter that you Csaw Emrunnin’ that Amnight?
Don’t forFget that you are Cwhite.”G
Am F Am F
AmArthur Dexter Bradley said, “I’m Freally not sure”
The Amcop said, “A poor boy like you could Fuse a break
We Amgot you for the motel job and we’re Ftalkin’ to your friend Bello
AmYou don’t wanta have to go back to jail, Fbe a nice fellow
CFG
CYou’ll be doin’ society a favor
CF
CThat sonofabitch is brave and gettin’ braver
DmWe want to put his ass in Cstir
DmWe want to pin this triple CmurEmder on Amhim
He Fain’t no Gentleman CJim”G
Am F Am F
AmRubin could take a man out with Fjust one punch
But he Amnever did like to talk about it Fall that much
It’s my Amwork, he’d say, I Fdo it for pay
And Amwhen it’s over I’d just as Fsoon go on my way
CFG
CUp to some Fparadise
CF
CWhere the trout streams flow and the Fair is nice
DmAnd ride a horse along a Ctrail
DmBut then they took him to the CjailEmhouse
Where they Amtry to turn a Fman into a CmouseG
Am F Am F
AmAll of Rubin’s cards were Fmarked in advance
The Amtrial was a pig-circus, he Fnever had a chance
The Amjudge made Rubin’s witnesses Fdrunkards from the slums
To the Amwhite folks who watched he was a Frevolutionary bum
CFG
CAnd to the black folks he was just a Fcrazy nigger
CF
CNo one doubted that he Fpulled the trigger
DmAnd though they could not produce the Cgun
The DmD.A. said he was the Cone who Emdid the Amdeed
And the Fall-white jury CagreedG
Am F Am F
AmRubin Carter was Ffalsely tried
The Amcrime was murder “one.” FGuess who testified?
AmBello and Bradley and they Fboth baldly lied
AmAnd the papers, they all went Falong for the ride
CFG
CHow can the life of Fsuch a man
CF
CBe in the palm of Fsome fool’s hand?
DmTo see him obviously Cframed
DmCouldn’t help but make me feel Cashamed to Emlive in a Amland
Where Fjustice is a CgameG
Am F Am F
Now Amall the criminals in their Fcoats and their ties
Are Amfree to drink martinis and Fwatch the sun rise
While AmRubin sits like Buddha in a Ften-foot cell
An Aminnocent man in a Fliving hell
CFG
CYes, that’s the story of the Hurricane
CF
CBut it won’t be over till they clear his name
DmAnd give him back the time he’s Cdone
DmPut in a prison cell, but Cone Emtime he could-a Ambeen
The Fchampion of the CworldG
Am F Am F
Am F Am F
C F C F
Dm C Dm C Em Am F C G
Am F Am F
C