Tweeter and the Monkey Man
Were hard up for cash
They stayed up all night
Selling cocaine and hashTo an undercover cop
Who had a sister named Jan
For reasons unexplained
She loved the Monkey ManTweeter was a Boy Scout
'Course he went to Vietnam
Found out the hard way
Nobody gives a damnThought that they'd find freedom
Just across the Jersey line
Hopped into a stolen car
Took Highway 99And the walls came down
All the way to hell
They were something when they were standin' n'
They were something when they fellThe undercover cop
He never liked the Monkey Man
Even back in high school
Wanted to see him in the canJan got married at fourteen
To a racketeer named Bill
Made secret plans with the Monkey Man
From a mansion on the hillIt was out on Thunder Road
Tweeter at the wheel
Pulled into paradise
You could hear the tires squealIt was Jan who'd told him many times
"It was you to me who'd taught
In Kingston everything's legal, Jan
As long as you don't get caught"And the walls came down
All the way to hell
Never saw them when they standin'
Never saw them when they fellSome place by Rahway prison
They ran out of gas
The undercover cop cornered 'em
Said, "You didn't think that this could last"Jan jumped up out of bed
Said, "There's some place I gotta go"
She took the gun out of the drawer
And said, "It's best that you don't know"An ambulance rolled up
State Trooper close behind
Tweeter pulled his gun away
And messed up his mindThe undercover cop was found
Face down in a field
The Monkey Man was on the bridge
Using Tweeter as a shieldAnd the walls came down
All the way to hell
They were something when they were standin' n'
They were something when they fellThe town of Jersey City
Is quieting down again
I'm sitting in a gambling club
Called The Lion's DenThe TV set is blown up
Every bit of it is gone
Ever since the night
When they showed
That the Monkey Man was onMaybe I'll go to Florida
Get myself some sun
There ain't no more opportunity here
And everything's been doneSometimes I think of Tweeter
Sometimes I think of Jan
Sometimes I don't think about nothin'
But the Monkey ManAnd the walls came down
All the way to hell
Never saw them when they standin'
Never saw them when they fell
Songwriters
Roy Orbison;Jeff Lynne;Tom Petty;George Harrison;Bob DylanPublished by
SPECIAL RIDER MUSIC Song Discussions is protected by U.S. Patent 9401941. Other patents pending.