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.
– George Harrison (The True History of the Traveling Wilburys)
In yesterday’s article, I mentioned all songs bar one would be presented here from Born in the U.S.A.. The exact same goes for this supergroup wonder record – Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 – such is my fascination with it. Very few records have I covered as extensively as those two, so you could say they are amongst my top ever records. Not just that, but there is a very close Bruce Springsteen connection with today’s featured song, which we will discuss below.
‘Tweeter and the Monkey Man‘ is a special entry since it marks the last song from the record to be presented here. It is a roots rock / heartland rock song that feels part film noir, part road movie. The music has a steady, stomping rhythm and clean rhythm strumming. It sounds earthy and kind of unpolished, mirroring the song’s grittiness and street-story vibe. It also unfolds linearly, almost like a newspaper report. Each chorus contains a cymbal crash after they sing “and the walls came down,” representing the impending fate of these nefarious characters.
Although Harrison said it was cowritten between Dylan and Petty, the lyrics do seem distinctly Dylan-esque in tone and context. Nearly the whole song entails the story of two drug traffickers who are on the run – one who appears to be a transexual named ‘Tweeter’ and the other a criminal Monkey Man. An unrelenting undercover cop is in hot pursuit who is the brother of a lady named Jan who is having an affair with the Monkey Man and is the female fatale in the story.
The setting is a gritty urban tale with the characters high-tailing it for New Jersey. It appears to contain heavy nods to Bruce Springsteen’s storytelling style, especially in Jungleland. ‘Magic Rat and ‘Barefoot Girl’ feel like cousins to ‘Tweeter’, ‘the Monkey Man’, and ‘Jan’. Also there are many Springsteen song title references include: ‘Stolen Car’, ‘Mansion on the Hill’, ‘Thunder Road”, ‘State Trooper’, ‘Factory’, and ‘The River’.
[Verse 1]
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’d find 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
[Verse 2]
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”
[Verse 3]
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”
[Verse 4]
Someplace by Rahway Prison, they ran out of gas
The undercover cop had cornered ’em, said, “Boy, you didn’t think that this could last”
Jan jumped up 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 Tweeter’s curl
I knew him long before he ever became a Jersey girl”
[Verse 5]
Now the town of Jersey City is quieting down again
I’m sitting in a gambling club called A Lion’s Den
The TV set was 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 been done
Sometimes I think of Tweeter, sometimes I think of Jan
Sometimes I don’t think about nothing but the Monkey Man
References:
1. Tweeter and the Monkey Man – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
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