Hurricane
Bob Dylan Lyrics

Pistol shots ring out in the barroom night
Gunfire breaks out in a bar one evening

Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall
Patty Valentine appears from the upstairs area

She sees a bartender in a pool of blood
Patty observes a bartender with blood around him

Cries out, "my God, they killed them all"
Patty screams that everyone has been killed

Here comes the story of the Hurricane
The song is about the Hurricane's story

The man the authorities came to blame
The person the authorities held accountable

For somethin' that he never done
For a crime he never committed

Put in a prison cell, but one time he coulda been The champion of the world
He was put in jail, but he had the potential to be a great boxer

Three bodies lyin' there, does Patty see
Patty sees three dead people on the floor

And another man named Bello, movin' around mysteriously
Bello is there and acting in a suspicious manner

"I didn't do it" he says, and he throws up his hands
Bello denies any involvement and shows his innocence

"I was only robbin' the register, I hope you understand"
He explains that he was only stealing from the cash register

"I saw them leavin'" he says, and he stops "One of us had better call up the cops"
Bello claims that he saw the perpetrators leave, and he suggests calling the police

And so Patty calls the cops And they arrive on the scene With their red lights flashin' in a hot New Jersey night
Patty calls the police, and they show up with flashing lights on a hot night in New Jersey

Meanwhile, far away in another part of town Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are drivin' around
Rubin Carter and his friends are driving around in another part of town

Number one contender for the middleweight crown Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down
Rubin Carter had no clue about the events that were about to happen

When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road Just like the time before and the time before that In Paterson that's just the way things go If you're black you might as well not show up on the street 'Less you want to draw the heat
A police officer stops him on the side of the road, as frequently happened in Paterson, especially if you were black and didn't want to attract attention

And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head Cop said "Wait a minute, boys, this one's not dead" So they took him to the infirmary And though this man could hardly see They told him he could identify the guilty men
Patty confirms the survivor is still alive, so they take him to the infirmary where he is asked to identify the suspects despite the fact that he can barely see

Four in the mornin' and they haul Rubin in They took him to the hospital and they brought him upstairs The wounded man looks up through his one dyin' eye Say "Why'd you bring him in here for? He ain't the guy"
They bring Rubin into the hospital at four in the morning, and he tells the police they've made a mistake since he is not the guilty party

Four months later, the ghettos are in flame Rubin's in South America, fightin' for his name While Arthur Dexter Bradley's still in the robbery game And the cops are puttin' the screws to him, lookin' for somebody to blame
Four months later, the ghettos are on fire, Rubin is in South America fighting for his innocence, and Arthur Dexter Bradley is still committing robberies while the police try to pin the murders on someone

"Remember that murder that happened in a bar?" "Remember you said you saw the getaway car?" "You think you'd like to play ball with the law?" "Think it mighta been that fighter that you saw runnin' that night?" "Don't forget that you are white"
The police try to manipulate Bradley into blaming Rubin, reminding him of his past statements and how he would be doing them a favor since Rubin is black

Arthur Dexter Bradley said "I'm really not sure" The cops said "A poor boy like you, could use this break We got you for the motel job and we're talkin' to your friend Bello You don't want to have to go back to jail, be a nice fellow You'll be doin' society a favor That son of a bitch is brave and gettin' braver We want to put his ass in stir We want to pin this triple murder on him He ain't no Gentleman Jim"
Bradley is uncertain, but the police enforce him by telling him that they have evidence against him and he would be doing society a favor by hurting Rubin. The police want Rubin to be blamed for the murders and jailed, disregarding his innocence

Rubin could take a man out with just one punch But he never did like to talk about it all that much "It's my work" he'd say, "and I do it for pay And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way"
Rubin is a powerful man who dislikes discussing his work as a boxer, and he believes that it is only a job that he does to earn money

Up to some paradise Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice And ride a horse along a trail But then they took him to the jailhouse Where they try to turn a man into a mouse
Rubin dreams of going somewhere peaceful and spending time with nature, but instead, he is taken to jail where they try to break him

All of Rubin's cards were marked in advance The trial was a pig-circus, he never had a chance The judge made Rubin's witnesses drunkards from the slums To the white folks who watched, he was a revolutionary bum And for the black folks he was just a crazy nigger
Rubin's fate was predetermined, and he never had a chance to prove himself innocent. The judge was unfair due to his race and class, and he was seen by white people as a violent criminal and by black people as a crazy person

No one doubted that he pulled the trigger And though they could not produce the gun The D.A. said he was the one who did the deed And the all-white jury agreed
Nobody believed he was innocent even though there was no proof that he has committed the crime, but due to his race and other factors, he was found guilty anyway

Rubin Carter was falsely tried The crime was murder one, guess who testified? Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied And the newspapers, they all went along for the ride
Rubin was wrongly convicted, and his testimony and innocence weren't taken into account. The newspapers also published false stories, further defaming him

How can the life of such a man Be in the palm of some fool's hand? To see him obviously framed Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land Where justice is a game
It is tragic to see a man's life be determined by people that blindly believe he is guilty, and the fact that it's happening in America incites shameful feelings in the author

Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell An innocent man in a living hell
The actual criminals are free to enjoy life while Rubin is imprisoned, and he is stuck in a small cell, as an innocent man, and is suffering

Yes, that's the story of the Hurricane But it won't be over 'til they clear his name And give him back the time he's done Put in a prison cell, but one time he coulda been The champion of the world
The story of the Hurricane is not over, and the author believes that Rubin's name should be cleared, and he should be released. He had the potential to be a great boxer in his time