[Intro]
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[Verse 1]
Am F
Pistol shots ring out in the bar room night
Am F
Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall
Am F
She sees the bartender in a pool of blood
Am F
She cries out " my god they killed them all"
C F
Here comes the story of the Hurricane
C F
The man the authorities came to blame
Dm C
For something that he never done
Dm C Em
Put in a prison cell but one time
Am F C G
He could have been the champion of the world
Am F Am F
[Verse 2]
Am F
Three bodies lying there does Patty see
Am F
And another man name Bello movin around mysteriously
Am F
" I didn't do it " he says and he throws up his hands
Am F
" I was only robbing the register,I hope you understand
C F
I saw them leaving " he says and he stops
C F
One of us had better call up the cops
Dm C
And so Patty calls the cops
Dm C Em
And they arrive on the scene with there red lights
Am F C G
Flashing on the hot New Jersey night
Am F Am F
[Verse 3]
Am F
Meanwhile somewhere in another part of town
Am F
Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are driving around
Am F
The number one contender for the heavy weight crown
Am F
Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down
C F
When a cop pulled them over to the side of the road
C F
Just like the time before and the the time before that
Dm C
In Paterson that's just the way it go's
Dm C Em Am
If your black you might as well not show up on the street
F C G
Less you wanna draw the heat
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[Verse 4]
Am F
Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the cops
Am F
Him and Arthur Dextor Bradley were just down prowling around
Am F
He said " I saw two men runnin out,they looked like middle weights
Am F
They jumped in to a white car with out of state plates"
C F
And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head
C F
The cops said "wait a minute boys this ones not dead"
Dm C
So they took him to the infirmary
Dm C
And although the man could hardly see
Em Am F C G
He told them that he could identify the guilty man
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[Verse 5]
Am F
Four in the morning and they hauled Rubin in
Am F
They took him to the hospital and brought him up stairs
Am F
The wounded man looked up through his one dying eye
Am F
Says"why you bring him in for? He ain't the guy
C F
Yes here is the story of the hurricane
C F
the man the authorities Came to blame
Dm C
For something that he never done
Dm C Em
Put in prison cell but one time
Am F C G
He could have been the champion of the world
Am F Am F
[Verse 6]
Am F
Four months later the ghetto all in flame
Am F
Rubin's in South America fighting for his name
Am F
While Author Dexter Bradley still in the robbery game
Am F
And the cops are putting the screws to him looking for someone to blame
C F
"Remember that murder that happened in the bar ?"
C F
"Remember you said you saw the getaway car?"
Dm C
"You think you'd like to play ball with the law?"
Dm C Em Am
"Think it might have been that fighter that you saw runnin that night"
F C G
"Don't forget that you are white"
Am F Am F
[Verse 7]
Am F
Arthur Dextor Bradley said "I'm really not sure"
Am F
Cops said "a poor boy like you could use a break
Am F
We got you for the motel job and we're talking to your friend Bello
Am F
Now you don't want to go back to jail be a nice fellow
C F
You'll be doing society a favor
C F
That son of bitch is brave and getting braver
Dm C
We want to put his ass in a stir
Dm C Em Am
We want to pin this triple murder on him
F C G
he ain't no gentleman Jim"
Am F Am F
[Verse 8]
Am F
Rubin could take a man out with just nor punch
Am F
But he never did like to talk about it all that much
Am F
"it's my work"he'd say "I do it for pay"
Am F
And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way
C F
Up to some paradise
C F
Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice
Dm C
And ride a horse along the trail
Dm C Em
But then they took him to the jail house
Am F C G
Where they try to turn a man into a mouse
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[Verse 9]
Am F
All Rubin's cards were marked in advance
Am F
The trial was a pig circus , he never had a chance
Am F
The judge made Rubin's witnesses drunkards from the slums
Am F
To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum
C F
And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger
C F
No one doubted that he pulled the trigger
Dm C
And though they could not produce the gun
Dm C Em Am
The D.A said he was the one who did the deed
F C G
And the all white jury agreed
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[Verse 10]
Am F
Rubin Carter was falsely tried
Am F
The crime was murder one and guess who testified
Am F
Bello and Bradley and they both badly lied
Am F
And the newspapers all went along for the ride
C F
How can the life of such a man
C F
Be in the palm of some fools hand
Dm C
To see him obviously Framed
Dm C Em Am
Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live a land
F C G
Where justice is a game
Am F Am F
[Verse 11]
Am F
Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties
Am F
Are free to drink martinis and watch the son rise
Am F
While Rubin sit like Buddha in a ten foot cell
Am F
An innocent man in a living hell
C F
That's the story of the Hurricane
C F
But it won't be over til they clear his name
Dm C
And give him back the time he's done
Dm C Em
Put in a prison cell but one time
Am F C G
he could have been the champion of the world
[Ending]
Am F Am F
Am F Am F......
