Written by Bob Dylan
Intro: Am F Am F Am F Pistol shots ring out in the bar room night Am F Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall Am F She sees the bartender in a pool of blood Am F Cries out "My God they killed them all!" C F Here comes the story of the Hurricane C F The man the authorities came to blame Dm C For something that he never done Dm C Put in a prison cell but one time Em Am F C G Am F Am F He could have been the champion of the world Am F Three bodied lying there does Patty see Am F And another man named Bello moving around mysteriously Am F "I didn't do it" he says, and he throws up his hands Am F "I was only robbin' the register, I hope you understand C F I saw them leavin'," he says and he stops C F One of us had better call the cops Dm C And so Patty calls the cops Dm C And they arrive on the scene Em Am with their red lights flashin' F C G Am F Am F In the hot New Jersey night Am F Meanwhile somewhere in another part of town Am F Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are driving around Am F Number one contender for the middleweight crown Am F Had no idea what kind of shit was about to go down C F When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road C F Just like the time before and the time before that Dm C In Patterson that just the ways things go Dm C If you black you might as well not show up on the streets Em Am F C G Am F Am F Less you wanna draw the heat Am F Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the cops Am F Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowlin' around Am F He said "I saw two men runnin out, they looked like middle-weights Am F They jumped into a white car with out of state plates" C F And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head C F Cop said "Wait a minute boys, this one's not dead" Dm C So they took him to the infirmary Dm C And although this man could hardly see Em Am F C G Am F Am F They told him that he could identify the guilty men Am F Four in the morning and they haul Rubin in Am F Take him to the hospital and bring him upstairs Am F The wounded man looks up though his one dying eye Am F Says "why'd you bring him here for? He ain't the guy!" C F Yes, here the story of the Hurricane C F The man the authorities came to blame Dm C For something that he never done Dm C Put in a prison cell but one time he could've been Em Am F C G Am F Am F The champion of the world Am F Four months later the ghetto's on flame Am F Rubin's in South America fightin' for his name Am F While Arthur Dexter Bradley's still in the robbery game Am F And the cops are puttin' the screw to him looking for somebody to blame C F "Remember that murder that happened in a bar" C F "Remember you said you saw the getaway car" Dm C "You think you'd like to play ball with the law?" Dm C "Think it might have been that fighter that you saw running that night" Em Am F C G Am F Am F "Don't forget that you are white" Am F Arthur Dexter Bradley said "I'm really not sure" Am F Cops said "A poor boy like you could really use a break Am F We got you for the motel job and were talking to your friend Bello Am F Now you don't want to have to go back to jail, be a nice fellow C F You'll be doin' society a favor C F That son of a bitch is brave and getting braver Dm C We want to put his ass in the stir Dm C We want to pin this trip murder on him Em Am F C G Am F Am F He ain't no Gentleman Jim" Am F Rubin could take a man out with just one punch Am F He never did like to talk about it all that much Am F It's my work he'd say, I do it for pay Am F And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way C F Up to some paradise C F Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice Dm C And ride a horse along a trail Dm C But then they took him to the jail house Em Am F C G Am F Am F Where they try to make a man into a mouse Am F All of Rubin's card were marked in advance Am F The trial was a pig-circus, he never had a chance Am F The judge made Rubin's witnesses drunkards from the slums Am F To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum C F but to the black folks he was a crazy nigger C F No one doubted that he pulled the trigger Dm C And though they could not produce the gun Dm C The D.A. said he was the one who did the deed Em Am F C G Am F Am F And the all-white jury agreed Am F Rubin Carter was falsely tried Am F The crime was murder "one", guess who testifie? Am F Bello and Bradley and the both badly lied Am F And the newspapers all went along for the ride C F How can the life of such a man C F Be in the palm of some fool's han? Dm C To see him obviously framed Dm C Couldn't help make him feel ashamed to live in a land Em Am F C G Am F Am F Where justice is a game Am F Now all the criminal in their coats and their ties Am F Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise Am F While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten foot cell Am F And innocent man in a living hell C F That's the story of the Hurricane C F But it won't be over till they clear his name Dm C And give him back the time he's done Dm C Put in a prison cell but one time he could've been Em Am F C G Am F Am F The champion of the world