Arthur Dexter, Bradley and Bello and they both lied
So they took him to the infirmary
And another man named Bello, movin' around mysteriously
And the cops are puttin' the screws to him
"I didn't do it," He says, and he throws up his hands
The judge made Rubin's witnesses drunkards from the slums
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could've been
But it won't be over till they clear his name
They jumped into a white car with out-of-state plates
The champion of the world
And the all-white jury agreed
They told him that he could identify the guilty men
Think you'd like to play ball with the law?
Three bodies lyin' there does Patty see
Meanwhile, far away in another part of town
If you're black you might as well not show up on the street
Publisher: RAM'S HORN MUSIC
And though they could not produce the gun
That's the story of the Hurricane
The trial was a pig-circus, he never had a chance
The crime was murder one and guess who testified?
No one doubted that he pulled the trigger
Says, "What'd you bring him in here for? He ain't the guy"
Rubin Carter was falsely tried
While Arthur Dexter Bradley's still in the robbery game
But he never did like to talk about it all that much
Lookin' for somebody to blame
And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashin'
When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road
Alfred Bello [Incomprehensible] had a rap for the cops
Arthur Dexter Bradley said, "I'm really not sure
And ride a horse along the trail
She sees the bartender in a pool of blood
Cops said, "A poor boy like you could use a break
And give him back the time he's done
Rubin's in South America, fightin' for his name
The man the authorities came to blame
All of Rubin's cards were marked in advance
And though this man could hardly see
Songwriters: Bob Dylan, Jacques Levy
The man the authorities came to blame
Now you don't wanta have to go back to jail, be a nice fellow
And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger
The wounded man looks up through his one dyin' eye
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could've been
Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are drivin' around
Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise
Remember you said you saw the getaway car?
Rubin could take a man out with just one punch
An innocent man in a living hell
The D.A. said he was the one who did the deed
And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head
While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell
And when it's over, I'd just as soon go on my way
Up to some paradise
He ain't no gentleman Jim"
Cop said, "Wait a minute, boys, this one's not dead"
The champion of the world
"Remember that murder that happened in a bar?
Enter Patty Valentine from the outer hall
Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down
To see him obviously framed
Where they try to turn a man into a mouse
Number one contender for the middleweight crown
To live in a land where justice is a game
Cries out, "My God, they killed 'em all"
For somethin' that he never done
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could've been
Four months later, the ghettos are in flame
Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed
"I was only robbin' the register, I hope you understand"
He saw two men runnin' out, they looked like middleweights
That son-of-a-bitch is brave and gettin' braver
Yes, here's the story of the Hurricane
We want to put his ass in stir
Pistol shots ring out on the barroom night
To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum
Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties
Don't forget that you are white"
I saw them leavin'" He says, and he stops
But then they took him to the jailhouse
Think it might-a been that fighter that you saw runnin' that night?
Here comes the story of the Hurricane
You'll be doin' society a favor
Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice
And the newspapers, they all went along for the ride
We want to pin this triple murder on him
In the hot New Jersey night
Take him to the hospital and they bought him upstairs
"One of us had better call up the cops"
How can the life of such a man
Be in the palm of some fool's hand?
The champion of the world
We got you for the motel job and we're talkin' to your friend Bello
Him and Arthur Dexter bradley were just out prowlin' around
'Less you wanna draw the heat
In Paterson that's just the way things go
Four in the mornin' and they haul Rubin in
And so patty calls the cops
It's my work, he'd say, and I do it for the pay
For somethin' that he never done
Just like the time before and the time before that