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Intro
Verse 1
Pistol shots ring out in the
bar room night
Enter Patty Valentine from the
upper hall
She sees the bartender in a
pool of blood
She cries out "My God they
killed them all"
Here comes the story of the
Hurricane
The man the authorities
came to blame
For something that he never
done
Put in a prison cell but
one
time
He could have
been the
champion of the
world
Verse 2
Three bodies lying there
does Patty see
And another man named Bello movin' around m
ysteriously
"
I didn't do it" he says and he
throws up his hands
"
I was only robbing the register, I
hope you understand
I saw them leaving" he
says and he stops
One of us had better
call up the cops
And so Patty calls the
cops
And they arrive on the
scen
e with their red lights
Flashing on the
hot New Jersey
night
Verse 3
Meanwhile somewhere in
another part of town
Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are
driving around
The number one contender for the
middleweight crown
Had no idea what kinda
shit was about to go down
When a cop pulled them 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
wanna draw the
heat
Verse 4
Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a
rap for the cops
Him and Arthur Dextor Bradley were just
down prowling around
He said "I saw two men runnin' out, they looked like
middleweights
They jumped in to a white car with
out of state plates"
And Miss Patty Valentine just
nodded her head
The cops said "Wait a minute boys,
this one's not dead"
So they
took him to the infirma
ry
And although the man could hardly
see
He told them that he
could i
dentify the guilty
man
Verse 5
Four in the morning and they
hauled Rubin in
They took him to the hospital and
brought him upstairs
The wounded man looked up through his
one dying eye
Says "Why you bring him in for? He
ain't the guy
Yes, here is the story of the
Hurricane
The man the authorities
came to blame
For something that he never
done
Put in a prison cell but
one
time
He could have
been the
champion of the
world
Verse 6
Four months later the
ghetto all in flame
Rubin's in South America f
ighting for his name
While Author Dexter Bradley still in the
robbery game
And the cops are putting the screws to him looking for
someone to blame
"Remember that murder that
happened in the bar?"
"Remember you said you saw the g
etaway car?"
"You think you'd like to play ball with the
law?"
"
Think it might have been that fighter that you
saw run
nin' that n
ight"
"Don't
forget that you are
white"
Verse 7
Arthur Dextor Bradley said "
I'm really not sure"
Cops said "A poor boy like you
could use a break
We got you for the motel job and we're
talking to your friend Bello
Now you don't want to go back to jail,
be a nice fellow
You'll be doing
society a favor
That son of bitch is
brave and getting braver
We want to put his ass in a
stir
We want to pin this triple
mur
der on
him
He
ain't no gentleman
Jim"
Verse 8
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 "I
do it for pay"
And when it's over I'd just as
soon go on my way
Up to some
paradise
Where the trout streams flow and the
air is nice
And ride a horse along the
trail
But then they took him to the
jail
house
Where they
try to turn a
man into a
mouse
Verse 9
All 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 to the black folks he was just a
crazy nigger
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 a
ll white jury
agreed
Verse 10
Rubin Carter was
falsely tried
The crime was murder one and
guess who testified
Bello and Bradley and
they both badly lied
And the newspapers all went a
long for the ride
How can the life of
such a man
Be in the palm of s
ome fool's hand
To see him obviously
framed
Couldn't help but make me feel a
shamed
to live in a
land
Where
justice is a
game
Verse 11
Now all the criminals in their
coats and their ties
Are free to drink Martinis and
watch the sun rise
While Rubin sit like Buddha in a
ten foot cell
An innocent man in a
living hell
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 could have
been the
champion of the
world
Ending
1x