| "Tweeter and the Monkey Man" | ||||
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| Song by Traveling Wilburys from the album Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 | ||||
| Released | October 18, 1988 | |||
| Recorded | 1988 | |||
| Genre | Heartland rock, Folk rock | |||
| Length | 5:27 | |||
| Label | Wilbury/Warner Bros. | |||
| Writer | Traveling Wilburys [1] | |||
| Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 track listing | ||||
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"Tweeter and the Monkey Man" is a song by rock music supergroup The Traveling Wilburys that first appeared on the 1988 album Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1.
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The songwriting credits goes officially to all members of the band, but the song is published by Bob Dylan's Special Rider Music label, which indicates Dylan as the main writer. This is contradicted to a slight degree by George Harrison's account of the song in "The True History of the Traveling Wilburys" documentary:
"'Tweeter and the Monkey Man' was really [written by] Tom Petty and Bob [Dylan]. Well, Jeff [Lynne] and I were there too, but we 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 to me, you know, it was that Americana kinda stuff and we got a tape cassette and put it on and then transcribed everything they were saying."[2]
"Tweeter and The Monkey Man" is sometimes regarded as a playful homage to Bruce Springsteen's songs. The lyrics include the titles of many Springsteen songs, and the song borrows many of Springsteen's themes and settings. For instance, the setting of the song itself is New Jersey, Springsteen's home state, and places like 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", "Lion's Den", and the 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 Petty, Harrison, Dylan and Lynne took part in the song. This is the only Wilburys song on Vol. 1 not to feature Roy Orbison on lead or backing vocals.
Dylan sings lead on the song's verses (with the rest of the group joining in on the chorus sections). At five verses in 5 minutes 27 seconds, "Tweeter and the Monkey Man" is the longest Traveling Wilburys song put to record. The chorus was originally part of a verse, but was chosen later for the refrain.
The story tells the story of two drug dealers – Tweeter and the Monkeyman –, their nemesis, "The Undercover Cop", and the nemesis's sister, Jan. It is hinted that Tweeter is a male-to-female transsexual, in the lines: "Tweeter was a boy scout / before she went to Vietnam...". Throughout the ballad, the fall of Tweeter and the Monkeyman is examined. Jan kills her brother, because of her love for the Monkeyman, and the story climaxes with a shootout on a bridge, as is seen in the lines: "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..." and "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'...".
Canadian rock band Headstones recorded a cover of the song for their debut album Picture of Health, and the song became a radio hit in Canada.
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