Artist: Bob Dylan Album: Desire {1976}

Pistol shots ring out in a barroom night
Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall
She sees a 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 somethin' that he never done
Put in a prison cell, but one time he coulda been
The champion of the world

Three bodies lyin' there does Patty see
And another man named Bello, movin' around mysteriously
"I didn't do it," he says, and he throws up his hands
"I was only robbin' the register, I hope you understand
I saw them leavin'," 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 flashin'
In a hot New Jersey night

Meanwhile, far away in another part of town
Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are drivin' 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 prowlin' around
He said, "I saw two men runnin' out, they looked like middleweights
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 that he could identify the guilty men

Four in the mornin' and they haul Rubin in
They took him to the hospital and they bring him upstairs
The wounded man looks up through his one dyin' 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 somethin' that he never done
Put in a prison cell, but one time he coulda been
The champion of the world

Four months later, the ghettos are in flame
Rubin's in South America, fightin' for his name
While Arthur Dexter Bradley's still in the robbery game
And the cops are puttin' the screws to him, lookin' for somebody to blame
"Remember that murder that happened in a bar
Remember you said you saw the getaway car
Think you'd like to play ball with the law
Think it might-a been that fighter that you saw runnin' that night?"
"Don't forget that you are white."

Arthur Dexter Bradley said, "I'm really not sure."
The cops said, "A poor boy like you could use a break
We got you for the motel job and we're talkin' to your friend Bello
You don't wanta have to go back to jail, be a nice fellow
You'll be doin' society a favor
That son-of-a-bitch is brave and gettin' 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, 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 D.A. 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 till they clear his name
And give him back the time he's done
Put in a prison cell, but one time he coulda been
The champion of the world

I married Isis on the fifth day of May
But I could not hold on to her very long
So I cut off my hair and I rode straight away
For the wild unknown country where I could not go wrong

I came to a high place of darkness and light
Dividing line ran through the center of town
I hitched up my pony to a post on the right
Went into a laundry to wash my clothes down

A man in the corner approached me for a match
I knew right away he was not ordinary
He said, "Are you lookin' for somethin' easy to catch?"
Said, "I got no money," he said, "That ain't necessary."

We set out that night for the cold in the North
I gave him my blanket and he gave me his word
I said, "Where are we goin'?" he said we'd be back by the fourth
I said, "That's the best news that I've ever heard."

I was thinkin' about turquoise, I was thinkin' about gold
I was thinkin' about diamonds and the world's biggest necklace
As we rode through the canyons through the devilish cold
I was thinkin' about Isis, how she thought I was so reckless

How she told me that one day we would meet up again
And things would be different the next time we wed
If I only could hang on and just be her friend
I still can't remember all the best things she said

We came to the pyramids all embedded in ice
He said, "There's a body I'm tryin' to find
If I carry it out it'll bring a good price."
Twas then that I knew what he had on his mind

The wind it was a-howlin' and the snow was outrageous
We chopped through the night and we chopped through the dawn
When he died I was hopin' that it wasn't contagious
But I made up my mind that I had to go on

I broke into the tomb, but the casket was empty
There was no jewels, no nothin', I felt I'd been had
When I saw that my partner was just bein' friendly
When I took up his offer I musta been mad

I picked up his body and I dragged him inside
Threw him down in the hole and I put back the cover
I said a quick prayer and I felt satisfied
Then I rode back to find Isis just to tell her I love her

She was there in the meadow where the creek used to rise
Blinded by sleep and in need of a bed
I came in from the East with the sun in my eyes
I cursed her one time, then I rode on ahead

She said, "Where ya been?" I said, "No place special."
She said, "You look different." I said, "Well, I guess."
She said, "You been gone." I said, "That's only natural." 
She said, "You gonna stay?" I said, "If you want me to, yes."

Isis, oh, Isis, you mystical child
What drives me to you is what drives me insane
I still can remember the way that you smiled
On the fifth day of May in the drizzlin' rain

I like to spend some time in Mozambique
The sunny sky is aqua blue
And all the couples dancing cheek to cheek
It's very nice to stay a week or two
And maybe fall in love, just me and you

There's lots of pretty girls in Mozambique
And plenty time for good romance
And everybody likes to stop and speak
To give the special one you seek a chance
Or maybe say hello with just a glance

Lying next to her by the ocean
Reaching out and touching her hand
Whispering your secret emotion
Magic in a magical land

And when it's time for leaving Mozambique
To say goodbye to sand and sea
You turn around to take a final peek
And you see why it's so unique to be
Among the lovely people living free
Upon the beach of sunny Mozambique

Your breath is sweet, your eyes are like two jewels in the sky
Your back is straight, your hair is smooth on the pillow where you lie
But I don't sense affection, no gratitude or love
Your loyalty is not to me but to the stars above

One more cup of coffee for the road
One more cup of coffee fore I go to the valley below

Your daddy he's an outlaw and a wanderer by trade
He'll teach you how to pick and choose and how to throw the blade
He oversees his kingdom so no stranger does intrude
His voice, it trembles, as he calls out for another plate of food

One more cup of coffee for the road
One more cup of coffee fore I go to the valley below

Your sister sees the future like your mama and yourself
You've never learned to read or write, there's no books upon your shelf
And your pleasure knows no limits, your voice is like a meadowlark
But your heart is like an ocean, mysterious and dark

One more cup of coffee for the road
One more cup of coffee fore I go to the valley below

Oh sister, when I come to lie in your arms
You should not treat me like a stranger
Our Father would not like the way that you act
And you must realize the danger

Oh sister, am I not a brother to you
And one deserving of affection
And is our purpose not the same on this earth
To love and follow his direction

We grew up together
From the cradle to the grave
We died and were reborn
And then mysteriously saved

Oh sister, when I come to knock on your door
Don't turn away, you'll create sorrow
Time is an ocean but it ends at the shore
You may not see me tomorrow

Born in Red Hook, Brooklyn, in the year of who knows when
Opened up his eyes to the tune of an accordion
Always on the outside of whatever side there was
When they asked him why it had to be that way, "Well," he answered, "just because."

Larry was the oldest, Joey was next to last
They called Joe "Crazy", the baby they called "Kid Blast"
Some say they lived off gambling and runnin' numbers, too
It always seemed they got caught between the mob and the men in blue

Joey, Joey - king of the streets, child of clay
Joey, Joey - what made them want to come and blow you away

There was talk they killed their rivals, but the truth was far from that
No one ever knew for sure where they were really at
When they tried to strangle Larry, Joey almost hit the roof
He went out that night to seek revenge, thinkin' he was bulletproof

When war broke out at the break of dawn it emptied out the streets
Joey and his brothers suffered terrible defeats
Till they ventured out behind the lines and took five prisoners
They stashed them away in a basement, called 'em amateurs

The hostages were tremblin' when they heard a man exclaim
"Let's blow this place to kingdom come, let Con Edison take the blame."
But Joey stepped up and he raised his hands, said, "We're not those kind of men.
It's peace and quiet that we need to go back to work again."

Joey, Joey - king of the streets, child of clay
Joey, Joey - what made them want to come and blow you away

The police department hounded him, they called him Mr. Smith
They got him on conspiracy, they were never sure who with
"What time is it?" said the judge to Joey when they met
"Five to ten," said Joey, the judge says, "That's exactly what you get."

He did ten years in Attica, reading Nietzsche and Wilhelm Reich
They threw him in the hole one time for tryin' to stop a strike
His closest friends were black men cos they seemed to understand
What it's like to be in society with a shackle on your hand

They let him out in '71, he'd lost a little weight
But he dressed like Jimmy Cagney and I swear he did look great
He tried to find a way back into the life he left behind
To the boss he said, "I have returned and now I want what's mine."

Joey, Joey - king of the streets, child of clay
Joey, Joey - what made them want to come and blow you away

It was true that in his later years he would not carry a gun
"I'm around too many children," he'd say, "they should never know of one."
Yet he walked right into the clubhouse of his lifelong deadly foe
Emptied out the register, said, "Tell 'em it was Crazy Joe."

One day they blew him down in a clam bar in New York
He could see it comin' through the door as he lifted up his fork
He pushed the table over to protect his family
Then he staggered out into the streets of Little Italy

Joey, Joey - king of the streets, child of clay
Joey, Joey - what made them want to come and blow you away

Sister Jacqueline and Carmela and mother Mary all did weep
I heard his best friend Frankie say, "He ain't dead, he's just asleep."
Then I saw the old man's limousine head back towards the grave
I guess he had to say one last goodbye to the son that he could not save

The sun turned cold over President Street and the town of Brooklyn mourned
They said a mass in the old church near the house where he was born
Someday if God's in heaven overlookin' His preserve
I know the men that shot him down will get what they deserve

Joey, Joey - king of the streets, child of clay
Joey, Joey - what made them want to come and blow you away

Hot chili peppers in the blistering sun
Dust on my face and my cape
Me and Magdalena on the run
I think this time we shall escape

Sold my guitar to the baker's son
For a few crumbs and a place to hide
But I can get another one
And I'll play for Magdalena as we ride

No llores, mi querida, dios nos vigila
Soon the horse will take us to Durango
Agarrame, mi vida, soon the desert will be gone
Soon you will be dancing the fandango

Past the Aztec ruins and the ghosts of our people
Hoofbeats like castanets on stone
At night I dream of bells in the village steeple
Then I see the bloody face of Ramon

Was it me that shot him down in the cantina
Was it my hand that held the gun
Come, let us fly, my Magdalena
The dogs are barking and what's done is done

No llores, mi querida, dios nos vigila
Soon the horse will take us to Durango
Agarrame, mi vida, soon the desert will be gone
Soon you will be dancing the fandango

At the corrida we'll sit in the shade
And watch the young torero stand alone
We'll drink tequila where our grandfathers stayed
When they rode with Villa into Torreon

Then the padre will recite the prayers of old
In the little church this side of town
I will wear new boots and an earring of gold
You'll shine with diamonds in your wedding gown

The way is long but the end is near
Already the fiesta has begun
The face of God will appear
With His serpent eyes of obsidian

No llores, mi querida, dios nos vigila
Soon the horse will take us to Durango
Agarrame, mi vida, soon the desert will be gone
Soon you will be dancing the fandango

Was that the thunder that I heard
My head is vibrating, I feel a sharp pain
Come sit by me, don't say a word
Oh, can it be that I am slain

Quick, Magdalena, take my gun
Look up in the hills, that flash of light
Aim well my little one
We may not make it through the night

No llores, mi querida, dios nos vigila
Soon the horse will take us to Durango
Agarrame, mi vida, soon the desert will be gone
Soon you will be dancing the fandango

Up on the white veranda she wears a necktie and a Panama hat
Her passport shows a face
From another time and place, she looks nothin' like that
And all the remnants of her recent past are scattered in the wild wind
She walks across the marble floor
Where a voice from the gambling room is callin' her to come on in
She smiles, walks the other way
As the last ship sails and the moon fades away from Black Diamond Bay

As the mornin' light breaks open, the Greek comes down
And he asks for a rope and a pen that will write
"Pardon, monsieur," the desk clerk says
Carefully removes his fez
"Am I hearin' you right?"
And as the yellow fog is liftin' 
The Greek is quickly headin' for the second floor
She passes him on the spiral staircase
Thinkin' he's the Soviet Ambassador
She starts to speak, but he walks away
As the storm clouds rise and the palm branches sway on Black Diamond Bay

A soldier sits beneath the fan
Doin' business with a tiny man who sells him a ring
Lightning strikes, the lights blow out
The desk clerk wakes and begins to shout
"Can you see anything?"
Then the Greek appears on the second floor
In his bare feet with a rope around his neck
While a loser in the gambling room lights up a candle
Says, "Open up another deck."
But the dealer says, "Attendez-vous, s'il vous plait."
As the rain beats down and the cranes fly away from Black Diamond Bay

The desk clerk heard the woman laugh
As he looked around in the aftermath and the soldier got tough
He tried to grab the woman's hand
Said, "Here's a ring, it cost a grand."
She said, "That ain't enough."
Then she ran upstairs to pack her bags
While a horse-drawn taxi waited at the curb
She passed the door that the Greek had locked
Where a handwritten sign read, "Do Not Disturb"
She knocked upon it anyway
As the sun went down and the music did play on Black Diamond Bay

"I've got to talk to someone quick."
But the Greek said, "Go away," and he kicked the chair to the floor
He hung there from the chandelier
She cried, "Help, there's danger near
Please open up the door."
Then the volcano erupted
And the lava flowed down from the mountain high above
The soldier and the tiny man were crouched in the corner
Thinking of forbidden love
The desk clerk said, "It happens every day,"
As the stars fell down and the fields burned away on Black Diamond Bay

As the island slowly sank
The loser finally broke the bank in the gambling room
The dealer said, "It's too late now
You can take your money, but I don't know how
You'll spend it in the tomb."
The tiny man bit the soldier's ear
As the floor caved in and the boiler in the basement blew
Well, she's out on the balcony, where a stranger tells her
"My darling, je vous aime beaucoup."
She sheds a tear and then begins to pray
As the fire burns on and the smoke drifts away from Black Diamond Bay

I was sittin' home alone one night in L.A.
Watchin' old Cronkite on the seven o'clock news
It seems there was an earthquake that
Left nothin' but a Panama hat
And a pair of old Greek shoes
Didn't seem like much was happenin'
So I turned it off and went to grab another beer
Seems like every time you turn around
There's another hard-luck story that you're gonna hear
And there's really nothin' anyone can say
And I never did plan to go anyway to Black Diamond Bay

I laid on a dune, I looked at the sky
When the children were babies and played on the beach
You came up behind me, I saw you go by
You were always so close and still within reach

Sara, oh, Sara - whatever made you want to change your mind
Sara, oh, Sara - so easy to look at, so hard to define

I can still see them playin' with their pails in the sand
They run to the water, their buckets to fill
I can still see the shells fallin' out of their hands
As they follow each other back up the hill

Sara, oh, Sara - sweet virgin angel, sweet love of my life
Sara, oh, Sara - radiant jewel, mystical wife

Sleepin' in the woods by a fire in the night
Drinkin' white rum in a Portugal bar
Them playin' leapfrog and hearin' about Snow White
You in the marketplace in Savanna-la-Mar

Sara, oh, Sara - it's all so clear, I could never forget
Sara, oh, Sara - lovin' you is the one thing I'll never regret

I can still hear the sounds of those Methodist bells
I'd taken the cure and had just gotten through
Stayin' up for days in the Chelsea Hotel,
Writin' Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands for you

Sara, oh, Sara - wherever we travel we're never apart
Sara, oh, Sara - beautiful lady, so dear to my heart

How did I meet you, I don't know
A messenger sent me in a tropical storm
You were there in the winter, moonlight on the snow
And on Lily Pond Lane when the weather was warm

Sara, oh, Sara - Scorpio Sphinx in a calico dress
Sara, oh, Sara - you must forgive me my unworthiness

Now the beach is deserted except for some kelp
And a piece of an old ship that lies on the shore
You always responded when I needed your help
You gave me a map and a key to your door

Sara, oh, Sara - glamorous nymph with an arrow and bow
Sara, oh, Sara - don't ever leave me, don't ever go