Hurricane by Bob Dylan
In my high school days I basically listened to rap and rhythm and blues, but since I have matured, my taste in music has also matured. I find myself listening to music that my parents still listen to. One of my favorite artists is the legendary singer/songwriter, Bob Dylan. I also enjoy listening to Neil Young, John Lennon and The Beatles. One song that comes to mind when I think of a controversial song is Bob Dylan’s “Hurricane.” The impact that it is based on a true story makes the lyrics seem more tragic and personal to me. Basically it is about a number one contender for the middleweight crown named Rubin Carter, “The Hurricane” who was convicted of a crime that he didn’t commit and spent many years in prison despite his apparent innocence. His unjust arrest and incarceration happened because he was a man of color in a time in the United States when that meant he was not a “full” man and didn’t deserve to live a life equal to or above that of a white man. Prominent white men of power saw him as a threat because they didn’t like the fact that a black man was doing so well for himself and earning an honest living in a white man’s world. After all, in their white-privileged minds blacks should never be national heroes or success models.
As for the lyrics, here are some racist lines in this song that I would like to comment about: “When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road, just like the time before and time before that” tells me that this is how blacks were treated; they were marked, targeted unlike white men by law enforcement, and looked at as criminals just because of the color of their skin. “If you’re black you might as well not shown up on the street, Less you wanna draw the heat” just like I mentioned, blacks were targeted, plain and simple. “Don’t forget that you are white” is a comment that strongly suggests that because a man is white, he should not do the right thing by standing up for a black man, which was just not acceptable because blacks were inferior. “To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum” a typical stereotype labeled on men of color. “And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger” which is a statement that says that a black man arrested for a crime is not unusual, he probably did it. “And the newspapers they all went along for the ride” is a normal response for the media, especially during that time period, when white men predominantly occupied media occupations. Nowadays the media is much more careful to not offend different ethnic groups, plus different ethnic groups (and females) are frequently employed in the media. “To see him obviously framed, couldn’t help but make me feel ashamed, to live in a land where justice is a game” Right on, Bob! I couldn’t agree more!
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