The Hurricane

The Hurricane (Bob Dylan)

What event or social issues is it about?

The Hurricane is about the imprisonment of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. It compiles alleged acts of racism and profiling against Carter, which Bob Dylan describes as leading to a false trial and conviction.

Background information about the event and its impact.

Rubin Carter and a man named John Artis had been charged with a triple murder which occurred at the Lafayette Grill in Paterson, New Jersey in 1966. Carter and Artis were found guilty of committing the murders, which were widely reported as racially motivated crimes, and both were sentenced to four consecutive life sentences. In the years that followed, a substantial amount of disagreement began over the case, ranging from allegations of faulty evidence and questionable eyewitness testimony to an unfair trial. In his autobiography, Carter maintained his innocence, and his story eventually led Dylan to visit him in Rahway State Prison in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey.

Bob Dylan's song had quite a big impact on racism, but people still had strong racial beliefs but they were slowly changing.

How are the lyrics relevant?

The lyrics are relevant because it explains what happened the night of the murders and how Rubin is an innocent man being accused of a crime he did not commit. It says how a story will emerge from this because in the song Dylan sings "Here comes the story of the Hurricane."

The song says how the pieces to the puzzles don't fit they still try to accuse Rubin of the crime he did not commit.

Did Bob Dylan have any connection to the event?

No he didn't, but Dylan felt he should do something about the conviction against Rubin. So he wrote a song in his favor to get more supporters and to draw people's attention to the case. It was very successful.

Any impact or repercussions the song may have had?

The song gained wide spread support from the public over doubts about the conviction of Rubin Carter. His lawyers in 1985 filed a Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Federal Court and eventually all charger were dropped against Carter although he had already served twenty two years in prison.