The Traveling Wilburys' album version
Tweeter and the Monkey Man were hard up for cash
They stayed up all night selling cocaine and hash
To an undercover cop who had a sister named Jan
For reasons unexplained she loved the Monkey Man
Tweeter was a boy scout before she went to Vietnam
And found out the hard way nobody gives a damn
They knew that they found freedom just across the Jersey Line
So they hopped into a stolen car, took Highway 99
And the walls came down, all the way to hell
Never saw them when they're standing, never saw them when they fell
The undercover cop never liked the Monkey Man
Even back in childhood he wanted to see him in the can
Jan got married at fourteen to a racketeer named Bill
She made secret calls to the Monkey Man from a mansion on the hill
It was out on Thunder Road, Tweeter at the wheel
They crashed into paradise, they could hear them tires squeal
The undercover cop pulled up and said "Everyone of you's a liar
If you don't surrender now, it's gonna go down to the wire"
And the walls came down, all the way to hell
Never saw them when they're standing, never saw them when they fell
An ambulance rolled up, a state trooper close behind
Tweeter took his gun away and messed up his mind
The undercover cop was left tied up to a tree
Near the souvenir stand by the old abandoned factory
Next day the undercover cop was hot in pursuit
He was taking the whole thing personal, he didn't care about the loot
Jan had told him many times it was you to me who taught
In Jersey anything's legal as long as you don't get caught
And the walls came down, all the way to hell
Never saw them when they're standing, never saw them when they fell
Someplace by Rahway Prison they ran out of gas
The undercover cop had cornered them said "Boy, you didn't think that this could last"
Jan jumped out of the bed, said "There's someplace I gotta go"
She took a gun out of the drawer and said "It's best if you don't know"
The undercover cop was found face down in a field
The monkey man was on the river bridge using Tweeter as a shield
Jan said to the Monkey Man, "I'm not fooled by Tweeter's curl
I knew him long before he ever became a Jersey girl"
And the walls came down, all the way to hell
Never saw them when they're standing, never saw them when they fell
Now the town of Jersey City is quieting down again
I'm sitting in a gambling club called the Lion's Den
The TV set been blown up, every bit of it is gone
Ever since the nightly news show that the Monkey Man was on
I guess I'll go to Florida and get myself some sun
There ain't no more opportunity here, everything's been done
Sometime I think of Tweeter, sometime I think of Jan
Sometime I don't think about nothing but the Monkey Man
And the walls came down, all the way to hell
Never saw them when they're standing, never saw them when they fell
And the walls came down, all the way to hell
Never saw them when they're standing, never saw them when they fell
TWEETER AND THE MONKEY MAN is a song written by The Traveling Wilburys and released on their 1988 album Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1. The above lyrics are for The Traveling Wilburys' album version TWEETER AND THE MONKEY MAN as released in 1988.
Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 is the first of two albums the short-lived band recorded together. The Traveling Wilburys is a supergroup consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty. TWEETER AND THE MONKEY MAN is supposedly co-written by all five members — all of the album's songs are credited to The Traveling Wilburys and none is mentioned by name in any literature in the album booklet or the music book. However, it is believed that Bob Dylan was the primary writer of this song, which is one of the very few Traveling Wilburys tracks that has Dylan singing lead vocals on while the rest of the band singing backup.
TWEETER AND THE MONKEY MAN is regarded by many fans to be a parody of Bruce Springsteen's music — a fun loving one, not a "put down". The song is filled with Springsteen — imagery and direct lyrical references (Vietnam, the Jersey line...) and lists many of his song titles in the text:
Both Bob Dylan and Roy Orbison denied that the song was a Springsteen parody. Once, when asked about TWEETER AND THE MONKEY MAN in an interview, Roy Orbison said that "Mansion On The Hill, that's Hank Williams". Of course, "Mansion On The Hill" is also the title of a Hank Williams song, but in this song's context, it's obviously an allusion to Springsteen and Orbison was probably joking. Dylan might not have written the song "about" Springsteen (it could merely be Dylan poking fun at himself), but it's obvious that he was at least influenced by Springsteen on this one.
One story goes like this: Bob Dylan was recording the first album with the Wilburys in the spring of 1988 in L.A. when he went with Tom Petty to see Springsteen's Tunnel Of Love Express Tour stop at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. At the time PART MAN, PART MONKEY was a regular part of Springsteen's set — "Part man, part monkey [...] that's me", as the song goes. Dylan takes this back to his hotel room and pens TWEETER AND THE MONKEY MAN (Tweeter would be Clarence Clemons for obvious reasons and The Monkey Man would be Bruce Springsteen). The song was not intended to make fun of Springsteen; it was just part of the playful nature of the Traveling Wilburys songs they were recording.
As far as it's known, Bob Dylan has never played TWEETER AND THE MONKEY MAN live.
Thanks Doug for the help with some of the above information.
List of available versions of TWEETER AND THE MONKEY MAN on this website:
TWEETER AND THE MONKEY MAN [The Traveling Wilburys' album version]