Hurricane Chords by Bob Dylan
- Key: Am
- BPM: 136
- Capo: no capo
DOWNBEAT
HURRICANE CHORDS
[Start] [Intro] Am F Am F Am F Am F ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ [Verse] Am F Pistol shots ring out in the barroom night Am F Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall Am F She sees a bartender in a pool of blood Am F C Cries out my God they killed them all [Chorus] Am F Here comes the story of the Hurricane C F The man the authorities came to blame Dm C For somethin' that he never done Dm C Am ■ Put in a prison cell but one time he coulda been C F C The champion of the world G7 G Am F Am Fmaj7 F ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ [Verse] Am F Three bodies lyin' there does Patty see Am F And another man named Bello movin' around mysteriously Am F ■ I didn't do it he says and he throws up his hands Am F C I was only robbin' the register I hope you understand F F7 I saw them leavin' he says and he stops F7 One of us had better call up the cops [Chorus] Dm C And so Patty calls the cops Dm C And they arrive on the scene Em Am F C With their red lights flashin' in a hot New Jersey night G Am F Am F ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Am F Meanwhile far away in another part of town Am F Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are drivin' around Am F Number one contender for the middleweight crown Am F Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down F7 When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road C7 F7 C Just like the time before and the time before that Dm C In Paterson that's just the way things go Dm C Em Am If you're black you might as well not show up on the street F C 'less you want to draw the heat G7 Am F Am F ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ [Verse] 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 prowlin' around Am F He said I saw two men runnin' out they looked like middleweights Am F C7 Jumped into a white car with outofstate plates [Chorus] F F7 And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head C7 F7 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 They told him he could identify the guilty men G Am F Am F Am ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ [Verse] F Four in the mornin' and they haul Rubin in Am F They took him to the hospital and they brought him upstairs Am F The wounded man looks up through his one dyin' eye Am F Say Why'd you bring him in here for He ain't the guy [Chorus] F Here's the story of the Hurricane C F C The man the authorities came to blame Dm C For somethin' that he never done Dm C Em Am Put in a prison cell but one time he coulda been F C The champion of the world G G7 Am F Am F ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ [Verse] Am F Four months later the ghettos are in flame Am F Rubin's in South America fightin' for his name Am F While Arthur Dexter Bradley's still in the robbery game Am F C And the cops are puttin' the screws to him lookin' for somebody to blame ■ [Chorus] F C Remember that murder that happened in a bar C Remember you said you saw the getaway car Dm C You think you'd like to play ball with the law Dm C Em Am Think it mighta been that fighter that you saw runnin' that night F C Don't forget that you are white G Am F Am F Am ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ [Verse] F Arthur Dexter Bradley said I'm really not sure Am F The cops said A poor boy like you could use this break Am F We got you for the motel job and we're talkin' to your friend Bello Am F C7 You don't want to have to go back to jail be a nice fellow ■ [Chorus] F7 C7 You'll be doin' society a favor F That son of a bitch is brave and gettin' braver Dm C We want to put his ass in stir Dm C Em Am We want to pin this triple murder on him F C He ain't no Gentleman Jim G7 Am F Am F ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ [Verse] 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 C And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way ■ F7 Up to some paradise C7 F7 C Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice [Chorus] Dm C ■ And ride a horse along a trail Dm C But then they took him to the jailhouse F C G Am Where they try to turn a man into a mouse ■ [Verse] F All of Rubin's cards were marked in advance Am F The trial was a pigcircus 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 F7 And for the black folks he was just a crazy nigger F7 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 C And the allwhite jury agreed G G7 C F Am F Am ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ [Chorus] 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 F7 And the newspapers they all went along for the ride C7 F7 How can the life of such a man C7 F7 Be in the palm of some fool's hand Dm C To see him obviously framed Dm C Em Am Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land F C Where justice is a game G Am F Am F ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ [Verse] 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 tenfoot cell Am F An innocent man in a living hell [Chorus] C F Yes that's the story of the Hurricane 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 Am Put in a prison cell but one time he coulda been F C The champion of the world [Inst] G Am F Am A7 F Am F ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ [Solo] C F C F Dm C Dm C ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Em Am F C G Am F Am ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ [Outro] F Am F Am F C F ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ [End]