About the Song
Background
- Rubin “Hurricane” Carter: The song tells the story of Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, a middleweight boxer who was wrongfully convicted of triple murder in 1966. Carter and his co-defendant, John Artis, consistently maintained their innocence.
- Dylan’s Inspiration: Dylan was deeply moved by Carter’s autobiography, The Sixteenth Round, which spoke of his wrongful imprisonment. Dylan visited Carter in prison, then collaborated with playwright Jacques Levy to write the song.
- Controversy and Impact: While “Hurricane” brought immense attention to Carter’s case, it was also criticized for factual inaccuracies. Nonetheless, the song was instrumental in raising awareness and played a part in Carter’s eventual release, though that release was based on legal grounds rather than the song’s retelling of the story.
Themes
- Racial Injustice: The song is a powerful indictment of the racial profiling and prejudice that led to Carter’s conviction. It highlights the systemic flaws within the justice system that disproportionately target people of color.
- Fight for Justice: Dylan calls for a continued fight against injustice and for the overturning of false convictions. The song becomes an anthem of hope and determination amidst adversity.
- Societal Responsibility: “Hurricane” challenges the listener’s complacency in the face of injustice, urging them to witness and speak out against such wrongs.
Lyrics Analysis
Here’s a look at some powerful lines and their meaning:
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“Pistol shots ring out in the barroom night / Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall. / She sees the bartender in a pool of blood, / Cries out, ‘My God, they killed them all!'”
- These opening lines immediately create a scene of violence and chaos, setting the stage for the injustice to follow.
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“Here comes the story of the Hurricane, / The man the authorities came to blame / For somethin’ that he never done. / Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been / The champion of the world.”
- Dylan summarizes Carter’s tragedy: a man unjustly imprisoned and deprived of the greatness he could have achieved.
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*“To be a black man in America / Gotta be like a phantom, better stay outta sight / Unless you wanna draw fire from the man in white”
- A stark commentary on the everyday reality of racial prejudice faced by black people in America.
Legacy
“Hurricane” stands as one of Dylan’s most powerful and enduring protest songs, demonstrating music’s ability to shed light on social injustice. The song’s factual shortcomings don’t diminish its emotional impact or its continuing relevance in the fight against inequality.
Video
Lyric
Pistols shots ring out in the bar room night
Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall
She sees the bartender in a pool of blood
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 him in a prison cell but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world
Three bodies lying there does Patty see
And another man named Bello moving around mysteriously
“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 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 friends are driving around
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 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
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, “I saw two men running out. They looked like middleweights
They jumped into a white car with out-of-state plates.”
And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head
Cop said, “Wait a minute, boys, this one’s not dead.”
So they took him to the infirmary
And though this man could hardly see
They told him he could identify the guilty men
Four in the morning and they haul Rubin in
They took him to the hospital and they brought him upstairs
The wounded man looks up through his one dying eye
Says, “Why’d you bring him in here for? He ain’t the guy!”
Here’s 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-a been the champion of the world
Four months later the ghettos are in flame
Rubin’s in South America fighting for his name
While Arthur Dexter Bradley’s still in the robbery game
And the cops are putting the screws to him looking for somebody to blame
“Remember that murder that you happened in a bar?
Remember you said you saw the getaway car?
You think you’d like to play ball with the law?
Think it might-a been that fighter that you saw running that night?
Don’t forget that you are white”
Arthur Dexter Bradley said, “I’m really not sure.”
The cop said, “A 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 wanna have to go back to jail, be a nice fellow
You’ll be doing society a favor
That son of a bitch is brave and getting braver
We want to put his ass in stir
We want to pin this triple murder on him
He ain’t no Gentleman Jim.”
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, “and 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 a trail.”
But then they took him to the jailhouse
Where they try to turn a man into a mouse
All of 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 DA 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
And the newspapers—they all went along for the ride
How can the life of such a man
Be in the palm of some fool’s hand?
To see him obviously framed
Couldn’t 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, 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-a been
The champion of the world