Composition and Lyrical Content
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 song tells the story of two drug dealers – Tweeter and the Monkeyman – their nemesis, "The Undercover Cop", and the nemesis's sister, Jan. Some of the lyrics imply that Tweeter may have changed from being a male to a female, for example: "Tweeter was a boy scout / before she went to Vietnam...". Later in the song, Jan is quoted as saying of Tweeter, "I knew him long before he ever became a Jersey girl."
Throughout the ballad, the fall of Tweeter and the Monkeyman is examined.
Read more about this topic: Tweeter And The Monkey Man
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