Song | Hurricane |
Artist | Bob Dylan |
Album | Desire |
[00:20.50] | Pistol shots ring out in the barroom night |
[00:21.48] | Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall |
[00:24.70] | She sees the bartender in a pool of blood |
[00:28.05] | Cries out, “My God, they killed them all!” |
[00:31.71] | Here comes the story of the Hurricane |
[00:35.05] | The man the authorities came to blame |
[00:38.77] | For somethin’ that he never done |
[00:42.44] | Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been |
[00:47.45] | The champion of the world |
[00:49.62] | |
[01:00.64] | Three bodies lyin’ there does Patty see |
[01:02.87] | And another man named Bello, movin’ around mysteriously |
[01:06.62] | “I didn’t do it,” he says, and he throws up his hands |
[01:09.57] | “I was only robbin’ the register, I hope you understand |
[01:14.63] | I saw them leavin’,” he says, and he stops |
[01:17.30] | “One of us had better call up the cops” |
[01:20.56] | And so Patty calls the cops |
[01:24.89] | And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashin’ |
[01:29.48] | In the hot New Jersey night |
[01:31.97] | |
[01:43.84] | Meanwhile, far away in another part of town |
[01:47.13] | Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are drivin’ around |
[01:50.99] | Number one contender for the middleweight crown |
[01:51.93] | Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down |
[01:55.35] | When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road |
[01:58.32] | Just like the time before and the time before that |
[02:02.36] | In Paterson that’s just the way things go |
[02:05.49] | If you’re black you might as well not show up on the street |
[02:10.62] | ’Less you wanna draw the heat |
[02:13.18] | |
[02:22.89] | Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the cops |
[02:25.53] | Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowlin’ around |
[02:28.73] | He said, “I saw two men runnin’ out, they looked like middleweights |
[02:32.43] | They jumped into a white car with out-of-state plates” |
[02:36.29] | And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head |
[02:39.79] | Cop said, “Wait a minute, boys, this one’s not dead” |
[02:43.03] | So they took him to the infirmary |
[02:50.12] | And though this man could hardly see |
[02:51.81] | They told him that he could identify the guilty men |
[02:54.15] | |
[03:03.78] | Four in the mornin’ and they haul Rubin in |
[03:06.57] | Take him to the hospital and they bring him upstairs |
[03:10.00] | The wounded man looks up through his one dyin’ eye |
[03:13.23] | Says, “Wha’d you bring him in here for? He ain’t the guy!” |
[03:17.24] | Yes, here’s the story of the Hurricane |
[03:20.36] | The man the authorities came to blame |
[03:24.01] | For somethin’ that he never done |
[03:27.93] | Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been |
[03:32.65] | The champion of the world |
[03:35.15] | |
[03:44.67] | Four months later, the ghettos are in flame |
[03:48.05] | Rubin’s in South America, fightin’ for his name |
[03:52.71] | While Arthur Dexter Bradley’s still in the robbery game |
[03:54.44] | And the cops are puttin’ the screws to him, lookin’ for somebody to blame |
[03:58.34] | “Remember that murder that happened in a bar?” |
[04:01.76] | “Remember you said you saw the getaway car?” |
[04:05.57] | “You think you’d like to play ball with the law?” |
[04:09.16] | “Think it might-a been that fighter that you saw runnin’ that night?” |
[04:11.84] | “Don’t forget that you are white” |
[04:15.63] | |
[04:27.27] | Arthur Dexter Bradley said, “I’m really not sure” |
[04:28.69] | Cops said, “A poor boy like you could use a break |
[04:31.74] | We got you for the motel job and we’re talkin’ to your friend Bello |
[04:35.50] | Now you don’t wanta have to go back to jail, be a nice fellow |
[04:40.24] | You’ll be doin’ society a favor |
[04:42.56] | That sonofabitch is brave and gettin’ braver |
[04:46.28] | We want to put his ass in stir |
[04:49.24] | We want to pin this triple murder on him |
[04:54.07] | He ain’t no Gentleman Jim” |
[04:55.45] | |
[05:05.85] | Rubin could take a man out with just one punch |
[05:09.03] | But he never did like to talk about it all that much |
[05:12.10] | It’s my work, he’d say, and I do it for pay |
[05:15.68] | And when it’s over I’d just as soon go on my way |
[05:19.71] | Up to some paradise |
[05:22.86] | Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice |
[05:26.35] | And ride a horse along a trail |
[05:30.41] | But then they took him to the jailhouse |
[05:34.40] | Where they try to turn a man into a mouse |
[05:39.66] | |
[05:46.52] | All of Rubin’s cards were marked in advance |
[05:48.96] | The trial was a pig-circus, he never had a chance |
[05:51.56] | The judge made Rubin’s witnesses drunkards from the slums |
[05:55.22] | To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum |
[05:58.79] | And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger |
[06:02.78] | No one doubted that he pulled the trigger |
[06:09.77] | And though they could not produce the gun |
[06:13.84] | The D.A. said he was the one who did the deed |
[06:17.91] | And the all-white jury agreed |
[06:21.25] | |
[06:29.87] | Rubin Carter was falsely tried |
[06:32.66] | The crime was murder “one,” guess who testified? |
[06:37.59] | Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied |
[06:39.78] | And the newspapers, they all went along for the ride |
[06:43.80] | How can the life of such a man |
[06:46.67] | Be in the palm of some fool’s hand? |
[06:52.97] | To see him obviously framed |
[06:54.01] | Couldn’t help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land |
[06:57.35] | Where justice is a game |
[07:02.36] | |
[07:10.39] | Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties |
[07:13.38] | Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise |
[07:16.38] | While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell |
[07:20.59] | An innocent man in a living hell |
[07:24.30] | That’s the story of the Hurricane |
[07:27.50] | But it won’t be over till they clear his name |
[07:30.97] | And give him back the time he’s done |
[07:36.27] | Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been |
[07:38.07] | The champion of the world |
[00:20.50] | Pistol shots ring out in the barroom night |
[00:21.48] | Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall |
[00:24.70] | She sees the bartender in a pool of blood |
[00:28.05] | Cries out, " My God, they killed them all!" |
[00:31.71] | Here comes the story of the Hurricane |
[00:35.05] | The man the authorities came to blame |
[00:38.77] | For somethin' that he never done |
[00:42.44] | Put in a prison cell, but one time he coulda been |
[00:47.45] | The champion of the world |
[00:49.62] | |
[01:00.64] | Three bodies lyin' there does Patty see |
[01:02.87] | And another man named Bello, movin' around mysteriously |
[01:06.62] | " I didn' t do it," he says, and he throws up his hands |
[01:09.57] | " I was only robbin' the register, I hope you understand |
[01:14.63] | I saw them leavin'," he says, and he stops |
[01:17.30] | " One of us had better call up the cops" |
[01:20.56] | And so Patty calls the cops |
[01:24.89] | And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashin' |
[01:29.48] | In the hot New Jersey night |
[01:31.97] | |
[01:43.84] | Meanwhile, far away in another part of town |
[01:47.13] | Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are drivin' around |
[01:50.99] | Number one contender for the middleweight crown |
[01:51.93] | Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down |
[01:55.35] | When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road |
[01:58.32] | Just like the time before and the time before that |
[02:02.36] | In Paterson that' s just the way things go |
[02:05.49] | If you' re black you might as well not show up on the street |
[02:10.62] | ' Less you wanna draw the heat |
[02:13.18] | |
[02:22.89] | Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the cops |
[02:25.53] | Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowlin' around |
[02:28.73] | He said, " I saw two men runnin' out, they looked like middleweights |
[02:32.43] | They jumped into a white car with outofstate plates" |
[02:36.29] | And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head |
[02:39.79] | Cop said, " Wait a minute, boys, this one' s not dead" |
[02:43.03] | So they took him to the infirmary |
[02:50.12] | And though this man could hardly see |
[02:51.81] | They told him that he could identify the guilty men |
[02:54.15] | |
[03:03.78] | Four in the mornin' and they haul Rubin in |
[03:06.57] | Take him to the hospital and they bring him upstairs |
[03:10.00] | The wounded man looks up through his one dyin' eye |
[03:13.23] | Says, " Wha' d you bring him in here for? He ain' t the guy!" |
[03:17.24] | Yes, here' s the story of the Hurricane |
[03:20.36] | The man the authorities came to blame |
[03:24.01] | For somethin' that he never done |
[03:27.93] | Put in a prison cell, but one time he coulda been |
[03:32.65] | The champion of the world |
[03:35.15] | |
[03:44.67] | Four months later, the ghettos are in flame |
[03:48.05] | Rubin' s in South America, fightin' for his name |
[03:52.71] | While Arthur Dexter Bradley' s still in the robbery game |
[03:54.44] | And the cops are puttin' the screws to him, lookin' for somebody to blame |
[03:58.34] | " Remember that murder that happened in a bar?" |
[04:01.76] | " Remember you said you saw the getaway car?" |
[04:05.57] | " You think you' d like to play ball with the law?" |
[04:09.16] | " Think it mighta been that fighter that you saw runnin' that night?" |
[04:11.84] | " Don' t forget that you are white" |
[04:15.63] | |
[04:27.27] | Arthur Dexter Bradley said, " I' m really not sure" |
[04:28.69] | Cops said, " A poor boy like you could use a break |
[04:31.74] | We got you for the motel job and we' re talkin' to your friend Bello |
[04:35.50] | Now you don' t wanta have to go back to jail, be a nice fellow |
[04:40.24] | You' ll be doin' society a favor |
[04:42.56] | That sonofabitch is brave and gettin' braver |
[04:46.28] | We want to put his ass in stir |
[04:49.24] | We want to pin this triple murder on him |
[04:54.07] | He ain' t no Gentleman Jim" |
[04:55.45] | |
[05:05.85] | Rubin could take a man out with just one punch |
[05:09.03] | But he never did like to talk about it all that much |
[05:12.10] | It' s my work, he' d say, and I do it for pay |
[05:15.68] | And when it' s over I' d just as soon go on my way |
[05:19.71] | Up to some paradise |
[05:22.86] | Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice |
[05:26.35] | And ride a horse along a trail |
[05:30.41] | But then they took him to the jailhouse |
[05:34.40] | Where they try to turn a man into a mouse |
[05:39.66] | |
[05:46.52] | All of Rubin' s cards were marked in advance |
[05:48.96] | The trial was a pigcircus, he never had a chance |
[05:51.56] | The judge made Rubin' s witnesses drunkards from the slums |
[05:55.22] | To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum |
[05:58.79] | And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger |
[06:02.78] | No one doubted that he pulled the trigger |
[06:09.77] | And though they could not produce the gun |
[06:13.84] | The D. A. said he was the one who did the deed |
[06:17.91] | And the allwhite jury agreed |
[06:21.25] | |
[06:29.87] | Rubin Carter was falsely tried |
[06:32.66] | The crime was murder " one," guess who testified? |
[06:37.59] | Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied |
[06:39.78] | And the newspapers, they all went along for the ride |
[06:43.80] | How can the life of such a man |
[06:46.67] | Be in the palm of some fool' s hand? |
[06:52.97] | To see him obviously framed |
[06:54.01] | Couldn' t help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land |
[06:57.35] | Where justice is a game |
[07:02.36] | |
[07:10.39] | Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties |
[07:13.38] | Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise |
[07:16.38] | While Rubin sits like Buddha in a tenfoot cell |
[07:20.59] | An innocent man in a living hell |
[07:24.30] | That' s the story of the Hurricane |
[07:27.50] | But it won' t be over till they clear his name |
[07:30.97] | And give him back the time he' s done |
[07:36.27] | Put in a prison cell, but one time he coulda been |
[07:38.07] | The champion of the world |