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Top Songs By The Traveling Wilburys
Credits
PERFORMING ARTISTS
Bob Dylan
Acoustic Guitar
George Harrison
Electric Guitar
Jeff Lynne
Background Vocals
Jim Horn
Saxophone
Jim Keltner
Drums
Ray Cooper
Percussion
Roy Orbison
Background Vocals
Tom Petty
Acoustic Guitar
COMPOSITION & LYRICS
Bob Dylan
Songwriter
George Harrison
Songwriter
Jeff Lynne
Songwriter
Roy Orbison
Songwriter
Tom Petty
Songwriter
PRODUCTION & ENGINEERING
Bill Bottrell
Engineer
Don Smith
Engineer
George Harrison
Producer
Jeff Lynne
Producer
Phil McDonald
Engineer
Richard Dodd
Engineer
Lyrics
[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 found freedom just across the Jersey Line
So they hopped into a stolen car, took Highway 99
[Verse 2]
And the walls came down
All the way to hell
Never saw them when they're standing
Never saw them when they fell
[Verse 3]
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"
[Verse 4]
And the walls came down
All the way to hell
Never saw them when they're standing
Never saw them when they fell
[Verse 5]
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 6]
And the walls came down
All the way to hell
Never saw them when they're standing
Never saw them when they fell
[Verse 7]
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 up out of bed, said, "There's someplace I gotta go"
She took a gun out of the drawer, said it's best that you don't know
The undercover cop was found facedown 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 8]
And the walls came down
All the way to hell
Never saw them when they're standing
Never saw them when they fell
[Verse 9]
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
[Verse 10]
And the walls came down
All the way to hell
Never saw them when they're standing
Never saw them when they fell
[Verse 11]
And the walls came down
All the way to hell
Never saw them when they're standing
Never saw them when they fell
Written by: The Traveling Wilburys