Pistol shots ring out in a barroom night
Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall
She sees a bartender in a pool of blood
Cries out ìmy god they killed them allî
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.

Three bodies lying there does Patty see
And another man named Bello moving around mysteriously
ìI didnít do it,î he says and he throws up his hands
ìI was only robbing the cash register, I hope you understand
I saw him leaving,î he says and he stops
ìOne of us had better call up the copsî
And so Patty calls the cops
And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashing
In the hot New Jersey night.

Meanwhile far away in another part of town
Rubin Carter and a couple of his 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 him over to the side of the road
Just like the time before and the time before that
In Patterson thatís just the way things go
If youíre black you might as well just not show up on the street
ëLess you wanna draw the heat.

Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the cops
Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowling around
He said ìI saw two men running out, they looked like middleweights
They jumped into a white car with out of state platesî
And miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head
Cop said ìWait a minute boys, this oneís not deadî
So they took him to the infirmary
And though this man could hardly see
He told them he could identify the guilty men.

Four in the morning and they haul Rubin in
Take him to the hospital and they bring him upstairs
The wounded man looks up through his one dying eye
Says ìWhaíd you bring him in here for? He ainít the guy!î
Yes hereís 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 world.

Four months later the ghettos are in flame
Rubinís in South America fighting for his name
While Arthur Dexter Bradleyís still in the robbery game
And the cops are putting the screws to him looking for someone to blame
ìRemember that murder that you happened on in a bar?î
ìRemember you said you saw the getaway car?î
ìThink youíd like to play ball with the law?î
ìThink it might have been that fighter that you saw running, that night?î
ìDonít forget that you are whiteî.

Arthur Dexter Bradley said ìIím really not sureî
Cops said ìA poor boy like you could use this break
Weíve got you for the motel job and weíre talking to your friend Bello
You donít want to have to go back to jail, so be a nice fellow
Youíll be doing society a favor
That sonofabitch is brave and getting braver
We want to put his ass in stir
We want to pin this triple murder on him
He ainít no Gentleman Jimî.

Rubin could take a man out with just one punch
But he never did like to talk about it all that much
Itís my work heíd say and I do it for pay
And when itís over Iíd 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 a trail
But then they took him to the jailhouse
Where they tried to turn a man into a mouse.

All of Rubinís cards were marked in advance
The trial was a pig-circus, he never had a chance
The judge made Rubinís witnesses drunkards from 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 all white jury agreed.

Rubin Carter was falsely tried
The crime was murder one, guess who testified
Bello and Bradley, and they both baldly lied
The newspapers, they all went along for the ride
How can the life of such a man
Be in the palm of some foolís hand?
To see him obviously framed
Couldnít help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land
Where justice is a game.

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
Yes, thatís the story of the Hurricane
But it wonít be over ëtil they clear his name
And give him back the time heíd done
Put in a prison cell but one time he could have been
The champion of the world.

INTERPRETIVE NOTES (by Scott Vollum, Doctoral Student, College of Criminal Justice, Sam Houston State University):

This is a powerful and disturbing song about a man falsely convicted of murder and put in prison for 19 years of his life.  The story told in the song is all the more poignant because it is true.  Rubin Carter was a talented boxer in his prime who was robbed of reaching his potential when framed and put in prison.

This song exposes the racism and injustice that has pervaded law enforcement and the "justice" system in American history.  Rubin "Hurricane" Carter was a threat to the white establishment in the form of a popular and socially active black man.  The authorities went to great lengths to frame him and took 19 years of his life.  Who are the real criminals here?

For more information on Rubin Carter go to: http://www.stanford.edu/~zdillon/hurricane.html