Song | Hurricane |
Artist | Bob Dylan |
Album | The Best of Bob Dylan |
[00:07.690] | Pistol shots ring out in the barroom night |
[00:18.700] | Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall. |
[00:22.910] | She sees the bartender in a pool of blood, |
[00:26.950] | Cries out, "My God, they killed them all!" |
[00:30.550] | Here comes the story of the Hurricane, |
[00:34.360] | The man the authorities came to blame |
[00:37.920] | For somethin' that he never done. |
[00:41.670] | Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been |
[00:45.190] | The champion of the world. |
[00:49.530] | |
[00:50.620] | Three bodies lyin' there does Patty see |
[01:01.630] | And another man named Bello, movin' around mysteriously. |
[01:03.600] | "I didn't do it," he says, and he throws up his hands |
[01:08.880] | "I was only robbin' the register, I hope you understand. |
[01:11.280] | I saw them leavin'," he says, and he stops |
[01:15.800] | "One of us had better call up the cops." |
[01:18.850] | And so Patty calls the cops |
[01:21.750] | And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashin' |
[01:27.640] | In the hot New Jersey night. |
[01:32.850] | |
[01:34.140] | Meanwhile, far away in another part of town |
[01:43.130] | Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are drivin' around. |
[01:46.810] | Number one contender for the middleweight crown |
[01:50.300] | Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down |
[01:54.320] | When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road |
[01:58.289] | Just like the time before and the time before that. |
[02:01.130] | In Paterson that's just the way things go. |
[02:04.760] | If you're black you might as well not show up on the street |
[02:09.240] | 'Less you wanna draw the heat. |
[02:18.500] | Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the cops. |
[02:24.380] | Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowlin' around |
[02:28.500] | He said, "I saw two men runnin' out, they looked like |
[02:30.550] | middleweights |
[02:32.120] | They jumped into a white car with out-of-state plates." |
[02:35.530] | And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head. |
[02:38.410] | Cop said, "Wait a minute, boys, this one's not dead" |
[02:42.540] | So they took him to the infirmary |
[02:45.800] | And though this man could hardly see |
[02:49.450] | They told him that he could identify the guilty men. |
[03:01.860] | Fourn the mornin' and they haul Rubin in, |
[03:05.380] | Take him to the hospital and they bring him upstairs. |
[03:07.170] | The wounded man looks up through his one dyin' eye |
[03:12.440] | Says, "Wha'd you bring him in here for? He ain't the guy!" |
[03:16.560] | Yes, here's the story of the Hurricane, |
[03:19.860] | The man the authorities came to blame |
[03:23.510] | For somethin' that he never done. |
[03:27.400] | Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been |
[03:31.380] | The champion of the world. |
[03:43.300] | Four months later, the ghettos are in flame, |
[03:46.620] | Rubin's in South America, fightin' for his name |
[03:50.130] | While Arthur Dexter Bradley's still in the robbery game |
[03:53.540] | And the cops are puttin' the screws to him, lookin' for somebody |
[03:56.0] | to blame. |
[03:57.640] | "Remember that murder that happened in a bar?" |
[04:00.930] | "Remember you said you saw the getaway car?" |
[04:04.460] | "You think you'd like to play ball with the law?" |
[04:08.130] | "Think it might-a been that fighter that you saw runnin' that |
[04:09.930] | night?" |
[04:12.230] | "Don't forget that you are white." |
[04:18.560] | Arthur Dexter Bradley said, "I'm really not sure." |
[04:27.270] | Cops said, " A poor boy like you could use a break |
[04:29.750] | We got you for the motel job and we're talkin' to your friend |
[04:33.250] | Bello |
[04:34.580] | Now you don't wanta have to go back to jail, be a nice fellow. |
[04:38.800] | You'll be doin' society a favor. |
[04:41.980] | That sonofabitch is brave and gettin' braver. |
[04:45.500] | We want to put his ass in stir |
[04:47.200] | We want to pin this triple murder on him |
[04:53.320] | He ain't no Gentleman Jim." |
[04:59.500] | Rubin could take a man out with just one punch |
[05:08.0] | But he never did like to talk about it all that much. |
[05:11.110] | It's my work, he'd say, and I do it for pay |
[05:15.200] | And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way |
[05:19.700] | Up to some paradise |
[05:22.200] | Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice |
[05:25.580] | And ride a horse along a trail. |
[05:28.870] | |
[05:29.530] | But then they took him to the jailhouse |
[05:32.930] | Where they try to turn a man into a mouse. |
[05:42.200] | |
[05:43.140] | All of Rubin's cards were marked in advance |
[05:48.730] | The trial was a pig-circus, he never had a chance. |
[05:52.170] | The judge made Rubin's witnesses drunkards from the slums |
[05:55.730] | To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum |
[05:59.740] | And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger. |
[06:02.930] | No one doubted that he pulled the trigger. |
[06:06.580] | And though they could not produce the gun, |
[06:10.380] | The D.A. said he was the one who did the deed |
[06:14.450] | And the all-white jury agreed. |
[06:26.900] | Rubin Carter was falsely tried. |
[06:29.780] | The crime was murder "one," guess who testified? |
[06:32.100] | Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied |
[06:36.900] | And the newspapers, they all went along for the ride. |
[06:40.670] | How can the life of such a man |
[06:43.730] | Be in the palm of some fool's hand? |
[06:47.590] | To see him obviously framed |
[06:51.300] | Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land |
[06:55.850] | Where justice is a game. |
[07:05.970] | Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties |
[07:10.190] | Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise |
[07:13.850] | While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell |
[07:17.390] | An innocent man in a living hell. |
[07:21.360] | Yes, that's the story of the Hurricane, |
[07:24.650] | But it won't be over till they clear his name |
[07:28.800] | And give him back the time he's done. |
[07:31.380] | Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been |
[07:35.980] | The champion of the world. |
[00:07.690] | Pistol shots ring out in the barroom night |
[00:18.700] | Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall. |
[00:22.910] | She sees the bartender in a pool of blood, |
[00:26.950] | Cries out, " My God, they killed them all!" |
[00:30.550] | Here comes the story of the Hurricane, |
[00:34.360] | The man the authorities came to blame |
[00:37.920] | For somethin' that he never done. |
[00:41.670] | Put in a prison cell, but one time he coulda been |
[00:45.190] | The champion of the world. |
[00:49.530] | |
[00:50.620] | Three bodies lyin' there does Patty see |
[01:01.630] | And another man named Bello, movin' around mysteriously. |
[01:03.600] | " I didn' t do it," he says, and he throws up his hands |
[01:08.880] | " I was only robbin' the register, I hope you understand. |
[01:11.280] | I saw them leavin'," he says, and he stops |
[01:15.800] | " One of us had better call up the cops." |
[01:18.850] | And so Patty calls the cops |
[01:21.750] | And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashin' |
[01:27.640] | In the hot New Jersey night. |
[01:32.850] | |
[01:34.140] | Meanwhile, far away in another part of town |
[01:43.130] | Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are drivin' around. |
[01:46.810] | Number one contender for the middleweight crown |
[01:50.300] | Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down |
[01:54.320] | When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road |
[01:58.289] | Just like the time before and the time before that. |
[02:01.130] | In Paterson that' s just the way things go. |
[02:04.760] | If you' re black you might as well not show up on the street |
[02:09.240] | ' Less you wanna draw the heat. |
[02:18.500] | Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the cops. |
[02:24.380] | Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowlin' around |
[02:28.500] | He said, " I saw two men runnin' out, they looked like |
[02:30.550] | middleweights |
[02:32.120] | They jumped into a white car with outofstate plates." |
[02:35.530] | And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head. |
[02:38.410] | Cop said, " Wait a minute, boys, this one' s not dead" |
[02:42.540] | So they took him to the infirmary |
[02:45.800] | And though this man could hardly see |
[02:49.450] | They told him that he could identify the guilty men. |
[03:01.860] | Fourn the mornin' and they haul Rubin in, |
[03:05.380] | Take him to the hospital and they bring him upstairs. |
[03:07.170] | The wounded man looks up through his one dyin' eye |
[03:12.440] | Says, " Wha' d you bring him in here for? He ain' t the guy!" |
[03:16.560] | Yes, here' s the story of the Hurricane, |
[03:19.860] | The man the authorities came to blame |
[03:23.510] | For somethin' that he never done. |
[03:27.400] | Put in a prison cell, but one time he coulda been |
[03:31.380] | The champion of the world. |
[03:43.300] | Four months later, the ghettos are in flame, |
[03:46.620] | Rubin' s in South America, fightin' for his name |
[03:50.130] | While Arthur Dexter Bradley' s still in the robbery game |
[03:53.540] | And the cops are puttin' the screws to him, lookin' for somebody |
[03:56.0] | to blame. |
[03:57.640] | " Remember that murder that happened in a bar?" |
[04:00.930] | " Remember you said you saw the getaway car?" |
[04:04.460] | " You think you' d like to play ball with the law?" |
[04:08.130] | " Think it mighta been that fighter that you saw runnin' that |
[04:09.930] | night?" |
[04:12.230] | " Don' t forget that you are white." |
[04:18.560] | Arthur Dexter Bradley said, " I' m really not sure." |
[04:27.270] | Cops said, " A poor boy like you could use a break |
[04:29.750] | We got you for the motel job and we' re talkin' to your friend |
[04:33.250] | Bello |
[04:34.580] | Now you don' t wanta have to go back to jail, be a nice fellow. |
[04:38.800] | You' ll be doin' society a favor. |
[04:41.980] | That sonofabitch is brave and gettin' braver. |
[04:45.500] | We want to put his ass in stir |
[04:47.200] | We want to pin this triple murder on him |
[04:53.320] | He ain' t no Gentleman Jim." |
[04:59.500] | Rubin could take a man out with just one punch |
[05:08.0] | But he never did like to talk about it all that much. |
[05:11.110] | It' s my work, he' d say, and I do it for pay |
[05:15.200] | And when it' s over I' d just as soon go on my way |
[05:19.700] | Up to some paradise |
[05:22.200] | Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice |
[05:25.580] | And ride a horse along a trail. |
[05:28.870] | |
[05:29.530] | But then they took him to the jailhouse |
[05:32.930] | Where they try to turn a man into a mouse. |
[05:42.200] | |
[05:43.140] | All of Rubin' s cards were marked in advance |
[05:48.730] | The trial was a pigcircus, he never had a chance. |
[05:52.170] | The judge made Rubin' s witnesses drunkards from the slums |
[05:55.730] | To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum |
[05:59.740] | And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger. |
[06:02.930] | No one doubted that he pulled the trigger. |
[06:06.580] | And though they could not produce the gun, |
[06:10.380] | The D. A. said he was the one who did the deed |
[06:14.450] | And the allwhite jury agreed. |
[06:26.900] | Rubin Carter was falsely tried. |
[06:29.780] | The crime was murder " one," guess who testified? |
[06:32.100] | Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied |
[06:36.900] | And the newspapers, they all went along for the ride. |
[06:40.670] | How can the life of such a man |
[06:43.730] | Be in the palm of some fool' s hand? |
[06:47.590] | To see him obviously framed |
[06:51.300] | Couldn' t help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land |
[06:55.850] | Where justice is a game. |
[07:05.970] | Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties |
[07:10.190] | Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise |
[07:13.850] | While Rubin sits like Buddha in a tenfoot cell |
[07:17.390] | An innocent man in a living hell. |
[07:21.360] | Yes, that' s the story of the Hurricane, |
[07:24.650] | But it won' t be over till they clear his name |
[07:28.800] | And give him back the time he' s done. |
[07:31.380] | Put in a prison cell, but one time he coulda been |
[07:35.980] | The champion of the world. |