Tweeter and the Monkey Man were hard up for cash
They stayed up all night smoking cocaine and hash
With an undercover cop, who had a sister named Jan
For reasons unexplained, she loved the Monkey Man
Tweeter was a Boy Scout 'cause he went to Vietnam
Found out the hard way, nobody gives a damn
You know that they'd find freedom just across the Jersey line
Hopped into a stolen car, took Highway 99
When 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 high school wanted to see him in the can
Jan got married at 14 to a racketeer named Bill
Made secret plans with the Monkey Man from a mansion on the hill
Was out on Thunder Road, Tweeter at the wheel
Pulled into paradise, you could hear the tires squeal
It was Jan who'd told me many times, "It was you to me who'd taught
In Kingston everything's legal, man, as long as you don't get caught"
When the walls came down
All the way to hell
Never saw them when they're standing
Never saw them when they fell
♪
A place by Rahway Prison, we ran out of gas
The undercover cop cornered us, said he didn't think this would last
Jan jumped up outta bed, said, "There's some place I gotta go"
Took the gun out of the drawer, said, "It's best that you don't know"
An ambulance rolled up, a state trooper close behind
Tweeter pulled his gun away and messed up his mind
The undercover cop was found face down in a field
Monkey Man on a river bridge, using Tweeter as a shield
When the walls came down
All the way to hell
Never saw them when they're standing
Never saw them when they fell
♪
The town of Kansas City, quieting down again
I'm sitting in a gambling club called The Lion's Den
The TV set is blown up, every bit of it is gone
Ever since the night when they showed that the Monkey Man was on
Maybe I'll go to Florida, get myself some sun
Ain't no more opportunity here and 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
When the walls came down
All the way to hell
Never saw them when they're standing
Never saw them when they fell