Hurricane
Rolling Thunder Revue Lyrics

Pistol shots ring out in the barroom night
Gunshots can be heard in the dimly lit and noisy bar

Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall
Patty Valentine enters the scene from the floor above

She sees the bartender in a pool of blood
She immediately notices the bartender lying in a pool of his own blood

Cries out, "My God, they killed them all!"
She screams in shock, exclaiming that everyone has been killed

Here comes the story of the Hurricane
Now begins the narrative of the man named Hurricane

The man the authorities came to blame
He is the one whom the authorities seek to accuse

For somethin' that he never done
For a crime he did not commit

Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
He was imprisoned, yet at one point he had the potential

The champion of the world
To become the undefeated champion of the world

Three bodies lyin' there does Patty see
Patty spots three lifeless bodies lying before her

And another man named Bello, movin' around mysteriously
She also notices a man named Bello acting suspiciously

"I didn't do it," he says, and he throws up his hands
Bello denies involvement, raising his hands to show innocence

"I was only robbin' the register, I hope you understand
"I was merely stealing from the cash register, I hope you comprehend

I saw them leavin'," he says, and he stops
Bello claims to have witnessed the culprits leaving, then pauses

"One of us had better call up the cops."
"One of us should inform the police."

And so Patty calls the cops
Hence, Patty proceeds to contact the police

And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashin'
The police arrive promptly, their flashing red lights illuminating the area

In the hot New Jersey night
In the sweltering night of New Jersey

Meanwhile, far away in another part of town
Simultaneously, in a distant neighborhood

Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are drivin' around
Rubin Carter and a few companions are cruising in a car

Number one contender for the middleweight crown
Rubin is the leading contender for the middleweight championship

Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down
Unaware of the impending trouble

When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road
Suddenly, a police officer stops his vehicle at the roadside

Just like the time before and the time before that
Similar to previous encounters

In Paterson that's just the way things go
In Paterson, this is a typical occurrence

If you're black you might as well not show up on the street
If you're black, it's advisable to avoid public appearances

'Less you want to draw the heat
Unless you want to attract trouble

Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the cops
Alfred Bello had an associate with a criminal history known to the police

Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowlin' around
Both of them, Alfred Bello and Arthur Dexter Bradley, were casually roaming the area

He said, "I saw two men runnin' out, they looked like middleweights
Alfred Bello claimed to have witnessed two men fleeing, appearing to be boxers in the middleweight division

They jumped into a white car with out-of-state plates."
These men swiftly fled in a white vehicle with license plates from another state

And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head
Patty Valentine simply nodded in agreement

Cop said, "Wait a minute, boys, this one's not dead"
A police officer interrupts, remarking that one of the victims is still alive

So they took him to the infirmary
Consequently, they transported him to the infirmary

And though this man could hardly see
Although the injured man's vision was severely impaired

They told him that he could identify the guilty men
The authorities assured him that he could identify the perpetrators

Four in the mornin' and they haul Rubin in
At four in the morning, they apprehended Rubin

Take him to the hospital and they bring him upstairs
He is escorted to the hospital and taken to an upper floor

The wounded man looks up through his one dyin' eye
Using his one remaining eye, the gravely injured man glances upward

Says, "Wha'd you bring him in here for? He ain't the guy!"
He questions why they brought Rubin in, emphasizing that he is not the culprit

Yes, here's the story of the Hurricane
Certainly, this is the tale of the man known as the Hurricane

The man the authorities came to blame
The very man the authorities aimed to accuse

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

Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
Confined to a prison cell, but there was an instance when he had the potential

The champion of the world
To become the undefeated champion of the world

Four months later, the ghettos are in flame
After four months, the impoverished neighborhoods are ablaze

Rubin's in South America, fightin' for his name
Rubin is now in South America, battling to clear his reputation

While Arthur Dexter Bradley's still in the robbery game
Meanwhile, Arthur Dexter Bradley remains involved in criminal activities

And the cops are puttin' the screws to him, lookin' for somebody to blame
The police are pressuring him, searching for someone to take responsibility

"Remember that murder that happened in a bar?"
"Do you recall that bar murder?"

"Remember you said you saw the getaway car?"
"Remember when you claimed to have witnessed the escape vehicle?"

"You think you'd like to play ball with the law?"
"Are you willing to cooperate with the law enforcement?"

"Think it might-a been that fighter that you saw runnin' that night?"
"Could it have been the boxer you saw fleeing that night?"

"Don't forget that you are white."
"Don't overlook the fact that you are white."

Arthur Dexter Bradley said, "I'm really not sure."
Arthur Dexter Bradley responds, "I honestly cannot be certain."

Cops said, "A poor boy like you could use a break
The policemen assert, "A disadvantaged young man like yourself deserves an opportunity

We got you for the motel job and we're talkin' to your friend Bello
We have evidence linking you to the motel robbery, and we are interrogating your associate Bello

Now you don't wanta have to go back to jail, be a nice fellow
Surely, you wouldn't want to return to prison, so be cooperative

You'll be doin' society a favor
By complying, you will be benefiting society

That sonofabitch is brave and gettin' braver
That audacious individual is becoming increasingly bold

We want to put his ass in stir
We are eager to incarcerate him

We want to pin this triple murder on him
We strive to attribute this triple homicide to him

He ain't no Gentleman Jim."
He is not a decent and honorable individual like Gentleman Jim

Rubin could take a man out with just one punch
Rubin possessed the ability to incapacitate someone with a single blow

But he never did like to talk about it all that much
However, he opted not to discuss this skill extensively

It's my work, he'd say, and I do it for pay
He declared, "It's my profession, I engage in it for financial compensation

And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way
Once the task is completed, he prefers to proceed with his journey

Up to some paradise
Towards a utopian destination

Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice
Where rivers teeming with trout meander and the atmosphere is pleasant

And ride a horse along a trail
And partake in horseback riding along a scenic path

But then they took him to the jailhouse
However, they transported him to the confines of the jail

Where they try to turn a man into a mouse
There, they attempt to strip away his courage and reduce him to timidity

All of Rubin's cards were marked in advance
Every aspect of Rubin's case had been predetermined

The trial was a pig-circus, he never had a chance
The trial was a absurd spectacle, ensuring he had no opportunity for justice

The judge made Rubin's witnesses drunkards from the slums
The judge selected Rubin's witnesses from the impoverished areas while they were intoxicated

To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum
To the white spectators, he appeared as both a revolutionary and a vagrant

And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger
To the black population, he was simply viewed as an irrational Black man

No one doubted that he pulled the trigger
Everyone assumed without question that he was the one who fired the gun

And though they could not produce the gun
Despite their inability to present the murder weapon

The D.A. said he was the one who did the deed
The District Attorney insisted that Rubin was the perpetrator

And the all-white jury agreed
And the entirely white jury concurred

Rubin Carter was falsely tried
Rubin Carter was unjustly subjected to a trial

The crime was murder "one," guess who testified?
The crime was classified as first-degree murder, and guess who provided testimony?

Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied
Both Bello and Bradley blatantly lied

And the newspapers, they all went along for the ride
The newspapers willingly collaborated with this narrative

How can the life of such a man
How can the existence of a man

Be in the palm of some fool's hand?
Be under the control of an ignorant individual?

To see him obviously framed
To witness his evident framing

Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land
This situation unavoidably made me feel ashamed to reside in this country

Where justice is a game
Where justice is treated as a mere game

Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties
Currently, all the criminals in their formal attire

Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise
Are at liberty to indulge in martinis while admiring the sunrise

While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell
While Rubin remains confined like a serene Buddha in a small prison cell

An innocent man in a living hell
An innocent individual trapped in a excruciatingly tormenting situation

That's the story of the Hurricane
That concludes the tale of the Hurricane

But it won't be over till they clear his name
However, the narrative will not conclude until his name is vindicated

And give him back the time he's done
And restore the time he has lost

Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
Confined to a prison cell, yet at one point he had the potential

The champion of the world
To become the undefeated champion of the world