[Intro]
[Am] [F] [Am] [F]
[Verse1]
[Am]Pistol shots ring out in the [F]barroom night
[Am]Enter Patty Valentine from the [F]upper hall
She [Am]sees the bartender in a [F]pool of blood
[Am] Cries out "My God they[F]they killed them all!"
[C]Here comes the story of the [F]Hurricane,
[G] [C] The man the authorities [F]came to blame
[Dm] For something that he never [C]done
[Dm] Put in a prison cell but [C]one [Em]time
He could have [Am]been the [F]champion of the [C]world [G]
[Instrumental]
[Am] [F] [Am] [F]
[Verse2]
[Am]Three bodies lyin’ there does[F]does Patty see
[Am]And another man named Bello, [F]movin’ around mysteriously
[Am]“I didn’t do it,” he says, an[F]and he throws up his hands
[Am]“I was only robbin’ the regis[F]register, I hope you understand
[C]I saw them leavin’,” he says[F]says, and he stops
[G]“O[C]“One of us had better call [F]up the cops”
[Dm]And so Patty calls the cops [C]
[Dm]And they arrive on the sce[C]scene w[Em]with their red lights flashin’
In the hot New[Am]New Jersey n[F]night [C] [G]
[Instrumental]
[Am] [F] [Am] [F]
[Verse3]
[Am]Meanwhile, far away in anothe[F]another part of town
[Am]Rubin Carter and a couple of [F]friends are drivin’ around
[Am]Number one contender for the [F]middleweight crown
[Am]Had no idea what kinda shit w[F]was about to go down
[C]When a cop pulled him over t[F]to the side of the road
[G]Ju[C]Just like the time before a[F]and the time before that
[Dm]In Paterson that’s just the w[C]way things go
[Dm]If you’re black you might [C]as w[Em]well not show up on the street
’Less you wann[Am]wanna draw th[F]the heat [C] [G]
[Instrumental]
[Am] [F] [Am] [F]
[Verse4]
[Am]Alfred Bello had a partner an[F]and he had a rap for the cops
[Am]Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley[F]Bradley were just out prowlin’ around
[Am]He said, “I saw two men runni[F]runnin’ out, they looked like middleweights
[Am]They jumped into a white car [F]with out-of-state plates”
[C]And Miss Patty Valentine jus[F]just nodded her head
[G]Co[C]Cop said, “Wait a minute, b[F]boys, this one’s not dead”
[Dm]So they took him to the infir[C]infirmary
[Dm]And though this man could [C]hard[Em]hardly see
They told him [Am]that he c[F]ould identify th[C]e guilt[G]y men
[Instrumental]
[Am] [F] [Am] [F]
[Verse5]
[Am]Four in the mornin’ and they [F]haul Rubin in
[Am]Take him to the hospital and [F]they bring him upstairs
[Am]The wounded man looks up thro[F]through his one dyin’ eye
[Am]Says, “Wha’d you bring him in[F]in here for? He ain’t the guy!”
[C]Yes, here’s the story of the[F]the Hurricane
[G]Th[C]The man the authorities cam[F]came to blame
[Dm]For somethin’ that he never d[C]done
[Dm]Put in a prison cell, but [C]one [Em]time he could-a been
The champion o[Am]of the wor[F]world [C] [G]
[Instrumental]
[Am] [F] [Am] [F]
[Verse6]
[Am]Four months later, the ghetto[F]ghettos are in flame
[Am]Rubin’s in South America, fig[F]fightin’ for his name
[Am]While Arthur Dexter Bradley’s[F]Bradley’s still in the robbery game
[Am]And the cops are puttin’ the [F]screws to him, lookin’ for somebody to blame
[C]“Remember that murder that h[F]happened in a bar?”
[G]“R[C]“Remember you said you saw [F]the getaway car?”
[Dm]“You think you’d like to play[C]play ball with the law?”
[Dm]“Think it might-a been tha[C]that fi[Em]fighter that you saw runnin’ that night?”
“Don’t forget [Am]that you [F]are white” [C] [G]
[Instrumental]
[Am] [F] [Am] [F]
[Verse7]
[Am]Arthur Dexter Bradley said, “[F]“I’m really not sure”
[Am]Cops said, “A poor boy like y[F]you could use a break
[Am]We got you for the motel job [F]and we’re talkin’ to your friend Bello
[Am]Now you don’t wanta have to g[F]go back to jail, be a nice fellow
[C]You’ll be doin’ society a fa[F]favor
[G]Th[C]That sonofabitch is brave a[F]and gettin’ braver
[Dm]We want to put his ass in sti[C]stir
[Dm]We want to pin this triple[C]triple mur[Em]murder on him
He ain’t no Ge[Am]Gentleman J[F]Jim” [C] [G]
[Instrumental]
[Am] [F] [Am] [F]
[Verse8]
[Am]Rubin could take a man out wi[F]with just one punch
[Am]But he never did like to talk[F]talk about it all that much
[Am]It’s my work, he’d say, and I[F]I do it for pay
[Am]And when it’s over I’d just a[F]as soon go on my way
[C]Up to some paradise [F]
[G]Wh[C]Where the trout streams flo[F]flow and the air is nice
[Dm]And ride a horse along a trai[C]trail
[Dm]But then they took him to [C]the [Em]jailhouse
Where they try[Am]try to turn [F]a man into a mou[C]mouse [G]
[Instrumental]
[Am] [F] [Am] [F]
[Verse9]
[Am]All of Rubin’s cards were mar[F]marked in advance
[Am]The trial was a pig-circus, h[F]he never had a chance
[Am]The judge made Rubin’s witnes[F]witnesses drunkards from the slums
[Am]To the white folks who watche[F]watched he was a revolutionary bum
[C]And to the black folks he wa[F]was just a crazy nigger
[G]No[C]No one doubted that he pull[F]pulled the trigger
[Dm]And though they could not pro[C]produce the gun
[Dm]The D.A. said he was the o[C]one w[Em]who did the deed
And the all-wh[Am]all-white jury [F]agreed [C] [G]
[Instrumental]
[Am] [F] [Am] [F]
[Verse10]
[Am]Rubin Carter was falsely trie[F]tried
[Am]The crime was murder “one,” g[F]guess who testified?
[Am]Bello and Bradley and they bo[F]both baldly lied
[Am]And the newspapers, they all [F]went along for the ride
[C]How can the life of such a m[F]man
[G]Be[C]Be in the palm of some fool[F]fool’s hand?
[Dm]To see him obviously framed [C]
[Dm]Couldn’t help but make me [C]feel[Em]feel ashamed to live in a land
Where justice [Am]is a game[F]game [C] [G]
[Instrumental]
[Am] [F] [Am] [F]
[Verse11]
[Am]Now all the criminals in thei[F]their coats and their ties
[Am]Are free to drink martinis an[F]and watch the sun rise
[Am]While Rubin sits like Buddha [F]in a ten-foot cell
[Am]An innocent man in a living h[F]hell
[C]That’s the story of the Hurr[F]Hurricane
[G]Bu[C]But it won’t be over till t[F]they clear his name
[Dm]And give him back the time he[C]he’s done
[Dm]Put in a prison cell, but [C]one [Em]time he could-a been
The champion o[Am]of the wor[F]world [C] [G]