"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
(chorus)
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 dont surrender now its gonna go down to the wire
(chorus)
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 didnt 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 dont get caught."
(chorus) ... Lyrics continued below.
"Tweeter and the Monkey Man," off the Traveling Wilburys, Vol. I, from 1988. The chorus is sung by the rest of the group: Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and George Harrison, but the lead vocals and all the words are Dylan's (with a little assistance from Petty). A close read of the lyrics reveals a lot of imagery lifted/borrowed from Bruce Springsteen. Don't worry too much about them though - just enjoy the original recording below.
Someplace by Rahway prison they ran out of gas
The undercover cop had cornered them said boy, you didnt
Think that this could last
Jan jumped out of 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 tweeters curl
I knew him long before he ever became a jersey girl
(chorus)
Now the town of Jersey City is quieting down again
I'm sitting in a gambling club called the Lions 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 to to Florida and get myself some sun
There aint no more opportunity here, everythings been done
Sometime I think of tweeter, sometime I think of Jan
Sometime I dont think about nothing but the monkey man."
