About The Song
“Tweeter and the Monkey Man” is a song by the British-American supergroup Traveling Wilburys that first appeared on the 1988 album Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1.
Although the official songwriting credit is given to all members of the band, it is thought that Bob Dylan is the main songwriter because he sings lead vocals and published the song under his Special Rider Music label. However, this is partially contradicted by George Harrison’s account of the song in the 2007 documentary The True History of the Traveling Wilburys:
“Tweeter and the Monkey Man” was really [written by] Tom Petty and Bob [Dylan]. Well, Jeff [Lynne] and I were there too, but they were just sitting there around in the kitchen, and he was for some reason talking about all this stuff that didn’t make much sense, you know, and we got a tape cassette and put it on and then transcribed everything they were saying.
Harrison also recalled that he and Lynne then contributed the chorus, beginning with the line “And the walls came down”, based on an idea of Dylan’s from the same tape.
“Tweeter and the Monkey Man” is sometimes regarded as a playful homage to the songs of Bruce Springsteen, who was often hailed as “the next Dylan” early in his career. The lyrics include the titles of many Springsteen songs, and the song borrows many of Springsteen’s themes. The setting of the song itself is New Jersey, Springsteen’s home state and the setting for many of Springsteen’s own songs. New Jersey locations such as Rahway Prison and Jersey City are mentioned by name. Springsteen song title references include: “Stolen Car”, “Mansion on the Hill”, “Thunder Road”, “State Trooper”, “Factory”, “The River”, and a song made popular by Springsteen but written by Tom Waits, “Jersey Girl”. Additionally, “Lion’s Den” and “Paradise” are each mentioned and prominently enunciated in the song, each being the title of a Springsteen song released after the Traveling Wilburys album.
Only Dylan, Harrison, Petty and Lynne took part in recording “Tweeter and the Monkey Man,” making it the only song on Vol. 1 not to feature Roy Orbison in any capacity.
“Tweeter and the Monkey Man” contains five verses in 5 minutes 27 seconds, making it the longest Traveling Wilburys song put to record. Dylan sings lead on the song’s verses, with the rest of the group (except Orbison) singing backup on the chorus.
The song tells the story of two drug dealers – Tweeter and the Monkey Man – their nemesis, the “Undercover Cop”, and the cop’s sister, Jan, a longtime love interest of the Monkey Man. Some lyrics raise a question regarding Tweeter’s gender identity, for example: “Tweeter was a boy scout / before she went to Vietnam …” Later in the song, Jan is quoted as saying of Tweeter, “I knew him long before he ever became a Jersey girl.”
Throughout the ballad, the demise of Tweeter, the Monkeyman and the Undercover Cop, as well as Jan’s fate, are examined.
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Lyrics
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 ‘fore 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 is 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
Some place by Rahwey Prison they ran out of gas
The undercover cop had cornered them, said
“Boy, you didn’t think this could last?”
Jan jumped out of bed, said, “There’s someplace I gotta go”
She took the gun out of the drawer, said, “It’s best that 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 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 was blown up, every bit of it is gone
Ever since the nightly news showed 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
Sometimes I think of Tweeter, sometimes I think of Jan
Sometimes 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