And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head
Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied
To the White folks who watched, he was a revolutionary bum
Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowlin' around
Four in the mornin', and they haul Rubin in
Here's the story of the Hurricane
Remember that murder that happened in a bar
In the hot New Jersey night
The trial was a pig-circus, he never had a chance
Now, all the criminals in their coats and their ties
The wounded man looks up through his one dyin' eye
Think it might've been that fighter that you saw runnin' that night
We want to put his ass in stir
"I saw them leavin'", he says and he stops
Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice
They took him to the hospital and they brought him upstairs
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could've been
Don't forget that you are White
Three bodies lyin' there, does Patty see
"I didn't do it," he says and he throws up his hands
You think you'd like to play ball with the law
He said, "I saw two men runnin' out, they looked like middle-weights
She sees a bartender in a pool of blood
Rubin's in South America, fightin' for his name
In Paterson that's just the way things go
And give him back the time he's done
Lookin' for somebody to blame
To see him obviously framed
That son of a bitch is brave and gettin' braver
The man the authorities came to blame
When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road
They told him, he could identify the guilty men
Are free to drink Martinis and watch the sun rise
The man the authorities came to blame
Four months later, the ghettos are in flame
The cops said, "A poor boy like you could use a break
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could've been
How can the life of such a man
To live in a land where justice is a game
He ain't no Gentleman Jim
Be in the palm of some fool's hand?
And to the Black folks he was just a crazy nigger
The champion of the world
One of us said, "Better call up the cops"
You'll be doin' society a favor
An innocent man in a living hell
The judge made Rubin's witnesses drunkards from the slums
Just like the time before and the time before that
Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the cops
Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down
Remembered you said you saw the get away car
Yes, that's the story of the Hurricane
Rubin Carter was falsely tried
And ride a horse along the trail
And the cops are puttin' the screws to him
The champion of the world
And so Patty calls the cops
Rubin could take a man out with just one punch
And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashin'
But he never did like to talk about it all that much
While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten foot cell
Jumped into a white car without of state plates"
So they took him to the infirmary and though this man could hardly see
And though they could not produce the gun
Cries out, "My God, they killed them all"
Number one contender for the middle-weight crown
If you're Black you might as well not show up on the street
Where they try to turn a man into a mouse
But it won't be over till they clear his name
Arthur Dexter Bradley said, "I'm really not sure"
'Less you wanna draw the heat
Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed
For somethin' that he never done
Here comes the story of the Hurricane
You don't wanta have to go back to jail, be a nice fellow"
Cop said, "Wait a minute, boys, this one's not dead"
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could've been
And another man named Bello movin' around mysteriously
Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are drivin' around
No one doubted that he pulled the trigger
All of Rubin's cards were marked in advance
But then they took him to the jail house
The D.A. said he was the one who did the deed
We've got you for the motel job and we're talkin' to your friend Bello
"It's my work", he'd say "And I do it for a pay
The crime was murder "One" guess who testified?
And when it's over just as soon go on my way"
And the all White jury agreed
While Arthur Dexter Bradley's still in the robbery game
Up to some paradise
For somethin' that he never done
We want to pin this triple murder on him
And the newspapers, they all went along for the ride
Meanwhile, far away in another part of town
Says, "Why'd you bring him in here for he ain't the guy"
"I was only robbin' the register, I hope you understand"
