Hurricane

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Am F Pistol shots ring out in the barroom night Am F Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall Am F She sees the bartender in a pool of blood Am F 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 Em Am F C G He could-a been the champion of the world

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Am F Three bodies lying there does Patty see Am F And another man named Bello moving 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 And they arrive on the scene Em Am With their red lights flashing F C G In the hot New Jersey night

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Am F Meanwhile far away in another part of town Am F Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are driving around Am F Number one contender for the middleweight crown Am F Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down

C F When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road C F Just like the time before and the time before that Dm C In Paterson that's just the way things go C Dm C If you're black you might as well not show Em Am F C G Up on the street unless you want to draw the heat

Am F Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the cops Am F Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowling around Am F He said I saw two men running out they looked like middleweights Am F They jumped into a white car with out-of-state plates

C F And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head C F Cop said wait a minute boys this one's not dead Dm C So they took him to the infirmary Dm C And though this man could hardly see Em Am F C G They told him he could identify the guilty men

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Am F Four in the morning and they haul Rubin in Am F They take him to the hospital and they brought him upstairs Am F The wounded man looks up through his one dying eye Am F Say why did you bring him in here for he ain't the guy

C F 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 Am Put in a prison cell but one time he could-a been F C G The champion of the world

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Am F Four months later the ghettos are in flame Am F Rubin's in South America fighting for his name Am F While Arthur Dexter Bradley's still in the robbery game Am F And the cops are putting the screws to him Am F Looking for somebody to blame

C F Remember that murder that happened in a 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 Think it might-a been that fighter that you saw Em Am F C G Running that night don't forget that you are white

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Am F Arthur Dexter Bradley said I'm really not sure Am F The 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 have to go back to jail be a nice fellow

C F You'll be doing society a favor C F That son of a bitch is brave and getting braver Dm C We want to put his ass in stir Dm C Em We want to pin this triple murder Am F C G On him he ain't no Gentleman Jim

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Am F Rubin could take a man out with just one punch Am F But he never did like to talk about it all that much Am F It's my work he'd say and 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 a trail Dm C Em But then they took him to the jailhouse Am F C G Where they try to turn a man into a mouse

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Am F All of 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 figure 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 DA said he was the one who did the deed Am F C G And the all-white jury agreed

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Am F Rubin Carter was falsely tried Am F The crime was murder one guess who testified Am F Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied Am F And the newspapers they all went along for the ride

C F How can the life of such a man C F Be in the palm of some fool's hand Dm C To see him obviously framed Dm C Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed Em Am F C G To live in a land where justice is a game

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Am F Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties Am F Are free to drink Martinis and watch the sun rise Am F While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell Am F An innocent man in a living hell

C F Yes 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 Em Am F C G He could-a been the champion of the world

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