Hurricane Chords

Lyrics & chords

[Intro 1]
[Am][F][Am][F]
[Am][F][Am][F]

[Verse 1]
[Am]Pistol shots ring out in the [F]barroom night
[Am]Enter Patty Valentine from the [F]upper hall
[Am]She sees a bartender in a pool[F] of blood
[Am]Cries out my God, they[F] killed them all
[C]Here comes the story of the Hur[F]ricane
[C]The man the authorities cam[F]e to blame
[Dm]For somethin' that he never done[C]
[Dm]Put in a prison cell,
but [C]one [Em]time he could-a [Am]been
The [F]champion of the [C]world[G]

[Interlude 1]
[Am][F][Am][F]

[Verse 2]
[Am]Three bodies lyin' there does Patt[F]y see
And an[Am]other man named Bello,
movin' [F]around mysteriously
[Am]I didn't do it, he says,
and he [F]throws up his hands
I was [Am]only robbin' the register,
I [F]hope you understand
[C]I saw them leavin', he say[F]s, and he stops
[C]One of us had better cal[F]l up the cops
[Dm]And so Patty calls the cops[C]
[Dm]And they arrive on the scene[C]
with [Em]their red lights [Am]flashin'
In the [F]hot New Jersey [C]night[G]

[Interlude 2]
[Am][F][Am][F]

[Verse 3]
[Am]Meanwhile, far away in an[F]other part of town
Rubin [Am]Carter and a couple of [F]friends
are drivin' around
[Am]Number one contender
for the [F]middleweight crown
Had [Am]no idea what kinda shit
[F]was about to go down
[C]When a cop pulled him over
to the [F]side of the road
[C]Just like the time before
and the [F]time before that
In [Dm]Paterson that's just the way [C]things go
If [Dm]you're black you might as well
[C]not show [Em]up on the s[Am]treet
'Less [F]you want to draw [C]the [G]heat

[Interlude 3]
[Am][F][Am][F]

[Verse 4]
Al[Am]fred Bello had a partner
and he had a [F]rap for the cops
Him and [Am]Arthur Dexter Bradley
were just [F]out prowlin' around
He [Am]said, I saw two men runnin' out,
they [F]looked like middleweights
[Am]Jumped into a white car
with [F]out-of-state plates
[C]And Miss Patty Valentine
just [F]nodded her head
[C]Cop said, wait a minute, boys,
[F]this one's not dead
So they [Dm]took him to the infirma[C]ry
[Dm]And though this man could hardly see[C]
They [Em]told him that he could
[Am]i dentify [F]the guilty men[C][G]

[Interlude 4]
[Am][F][Am][F]

[Verse 5]
[Am]Four in the mornin' and they haul [F]Rubin in
They [Am]took him to the hospital
and they [F]brought him upstairs
The [Am]wounded man looks up
through his [F]one dyin' eye
Says, [Am]wha'd you bring him in here for?
[F]He ain't the guy!
[C]Here's the story of the Hur[F]ricane
[C]The man the authorities cam[F]e to blame
[Dm]For somethin' that he never done[C]
[Dm]Put in a prison cell,
but [C]one [Em]time he could-a [Am]been
The [F]champion of the [C]world[G]

[Interlude 5]
[Am][F][Am][F]

[Verse 6]
[Am]Four months later, the ghett[F]os are in flame
Rubin[Am]'s in South America, fi[F]ghtin' for his name
While [Am]Arthur Dexter Bradley's
still in the [F]robbery game
And the [Am]cops are puttin' the screws to him,
lookin' [F]for somebody to blame
[C]Remember that murder
that [F]happened in a bar
[C]Remember you said
you saw the [F]getaway car
You [Dm]think you'd like to play ball with [C]the law
[Dm]Think it might-a been that fighter
that you [C]saw runnin' [Em]that nigh[Am]t
Don't for[F]get that you are [C]white[G]

[Interlude 6]
[Am][F][Am][F]

[Verse 7]
[Am]Arthur Dexter Bradley said I'm [F]really not sure
The [Am]cops said a poor boy like you
could [F]use a break
We [Am]got you for the motel job
and [F]we're talkin' to your friend Bello
[Am]You don't wanta have to go back to jail,
be [F]a nice fellow
[C]You'll be doin' socie[F]ty a favor
[C]That sonofabitch is bra[F]ve and gettin' braver
[Dm]We want to put his ass in st[C]ir
[Dm]We want to pin this triple murde[C]r[Em]
on [Am]him, he [F]ain't no Gentleman [C]Jim[G]

[Interlude 7]
[Am][F][Am][F]

[Verse 8]
[Am]Rubin could take a man out
with [F]just one punch
But he [Am]never did like to talk about
it [F]all that much
It's my [Am]work, he'd say, and I [F]do it for pay
And [Am]when it's over
I'd just as [F]soon go on my way
[C]Up to some par[F]adise
[C]Where the trout streams flow
and the [F]air is nice
[Dm]And ride a horse along a trail[C]
[Dm]But then they took him to the jail[C]hous[Em]e
Where they [Am]try to turn a m[F]an into [C]a mo[G]use

[Interlude 8]
[Am][F][Am][F]

[Verse 9]
[Am]All of Rubin's cards were [F]marked in advance
The [Am]trial was a pig-circus,
he [F]never had a chance
The [Am]judge made Rubin's witnesses
[F]drunkards from the slums
To the [Am]white folks who watched
he was a [F]revolutionary bum
[C]And to the black folks
he was just a [F]crazy nigger
[C]No one doubted that he pul[F]led the trigger
[Dm]And though they could not produce the [C]gun
[Dm]The D.A. said he was the o[C]ne
[Em]who did the [Am]deed
And the [F]all-white jury [C]agreed[G]

[Interlude 9]
[Am][F][Am][F]

[Verse 10]
[Am]Rubin Carter was false[F]ly tried
The [Am]crime was murder one,
guess [F]who testified
[Am]Bello and Bradley and they both [F]baldly lied
And [Am]the newspapers,
they all went [F]along for the ride
[C]How can the life of suc[F]h a man
[C]Be in the palm of som[F]e fool's hand
[Dm]To see him obviously frame[C]d
[Dm]Couldn't help but make me feel asham[C]ed
[Em]to live in a l[Am]and
Where [F]justice is a [C]game[G]

[Interlude 10]
[Am][F][Am][F]

[Verse 11]
Now [Am]all the criminals
in their [F]coats and their ties
Are [Am]free to drink martinis
and [F]watch the sun rise
While [Am]Rubin sits like Buddha in a [F]ten-foot cell
An [Am]innocent man in a [F]living hell
[C]That's the story of the Hur[F]ricane
[C]But it won't be over till they cle[F]ar his name
[Dm]And give him back the time h[C]e's done
[Dm]Put in a prison cell,
[C]but one [Em]time he could-a [Am]been
The [F]champion of the [C]world[G]

[Outro 1]
[Am][F][Am][F]
[Am][F][Am][F]
[C][F][C][F]
[Dm][C][Dm][C][Em]
[Am][F][C][G]
[Repeat and fade]