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Plankton · 06-17-2022, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisnaholic

^ I have this song, but tbh, I've never listened to it with enough attention to work out what's going on in Dylan's story. If it comes with the Plankton Seal of Approval, I should remedy that soon.

It reads a bit like a novella with a decent cadence:

Quote:

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

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 is a liar
If you don't surrender now it's gonna go down to the wire"

And the walls came down
All the way to hell
Never saw them when they're standing
Never saw them when they fell

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"

And the walls came down
All the way to hell
Never saw them when they're standing
Never saw them when they fell

Some place by Rahwey Prison they ran out of gas
The undercover cop had cornered them, said
"Boy, you didn't think this could last?"
Jan jumped out of bed, said, "There's someplace I gotta go"
She took the gun out of the drawer, said, "It's best that 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 became a Jersey Girl"

And the walls came down
All the way to hell
Never saw them when they're standing
Never saw them when they fell

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

And the walls came down
All the way to hell
Never saw them when they're standing
Never saw them when they fell

And the walls came down
All the way to hell
Never saw them when they're standing
Never saw them when they fell

The Wilbury's all played to their strengths in that super group and of course Dylans strength was his story telling.