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 before 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
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 cop pulled up and said Every one of you's 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 in hot pursuit
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
Someplace by Rahway Prison they ran out of gas
The undercover cop that had cornered them said fast
Boy, you really didn't think that this shit could last
Jan jumped out of the 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
Spent the rest of his days complaining about the raw deal

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 A Lion's Den
The TV set been 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’s no more opportunity here, everything's been done
Sometimes I think of Tweeter, sometime 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

(Original by the Traveling Wilburys)