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'd find 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'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 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
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 out of 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
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"''
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 show 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
Traveling Wilburys were a British-American supergroup active from 1988 to 1991 consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty. They were a roots rock band and described as "perhaps the biggest supergroup of all time".
Originating from an idea discussed by Harrison and Lynne during the sessions for Harrison's 1987 album Cloud Nine, the band formed in April 1988 after the five members united to record a bonus track for Harrison's next European single. When this collaboration, "Handle with Care", was deemed too good for such a limited release, the group agreed to record a full album, titled Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1. Following Orbison's death in December 1988, the Wilburys continued as a quartet and released a second album, titled Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3, in 1990.
The record's release was much anticipated because of the stature of the participants. The band members adopted tongue-in-cheek pseudonyms as half-brothers from the fictional Wilbury family of travelling musicians. Vol. 1 was a critical and commercial success, helping to revitalise Dylan's and Petty's careers. In 1990, the album won the Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group.
Although Harrison envisioned a series of Wilburys albums and a film about the band, to be produced through his company HandMade, the group became dormant after 1991 and never officially reunited, though the individual members continued to collaborate on each other's solo projects at various times. After being unavailable for several years, the two Wilburys albums were reissued by the Harrison estate in the 2007 box set The Traveling Wilburys Collection. The box set included a DVD containing their music videos and a documentary on the band's formation.
