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On the History of the Traveling Wilburys 24 minute DVD, in the new collection/box set, is some footage of Bob Dylan recording the basic tracks for Tweeter and the Monkey Man. George Harrison is shown from an interview, saying the lyrics were "Americana" to him. He said he and Jeff Lynne wrote the "And the walls came down..." chorus part of the song, and everything else was penned by Dylan. I'm slightly surprised George apparently didn't recognize the Bruce song references in Tweeter. To me, it's really something how much Bruce references are in the lyrics. Has Dylan spoken in any interviews about how he thought up all the Bruce references in the song?

Marshall
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Originally Posted By: Marshall
On the History of the Traveling Wilburys 24 minute DVD, in the new collection/box set, is some footage of Bob Dylan recording the basic tracks for Tweeter and the Monkey Man. George Harrison is shown from an interview, saying the lyrics were "Americana" to him. He said he and Jeff Lynne wrote the "And the walls came down..." chorus part of the song, and everything else was penned by Dylan. I'm slightly surprised George apparently didn't recognize the Bruce song references in Tweeter. To me, it's really something how much Bruce references are in the lyrics. Has Dylan spoken in any interviews about how he thought up all the Bruce references in the song?

Marshall



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Although it's true (as you note above) that Harrison & Lynne wrote the brief chorus, to "Tweeter & The Monkey Man" - it was in fact Dylan & Tom Petty that wrote all the verses. Dylan and Petty wrote it one day in the kitchen, with Roy Orbison present as they were writing it - and Roy did confirm in interview that he was present when Dylan & Petty wrote the lyrics. Roy was bemused when somebody mentioned a possible Springsteen connection and he specifically noted the reference to "Mansion On The Hill" was the famous Hank Williams song.

I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think Dylan has ever commented on the alleged homage/parody of Springsteen in that song. However Tom Petty was asked very directly about it in interview and this was Petty's response:

"I don't think we knew that (Springsteen) music well enough to rip it off. 'Thunder Road', that goes back beyond Bruce, that was (referencing) that old Robert Mitchum record. Bob and I wrote most of the lyrics together and I don't recall that (Springsteen) ever coming up"
[quote=Julius]Pull the other one, Tom. wink

Jersey
stolen car
99
mansion on the hill
thunder road
paradise
surrender
state trooper
factory
the river
jersey girl
lion's den (I guess Tom was an uber)

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I'm not sure why you think the above terms have any unique association to Bruce Springsteen. crazy They don't.

As Roy Orbison noted, the term "Mansion On The Hill" is referencing the famous Hank Williams Sr song, which pre-dates Springsteen's use of the term by several decades.

As Tom Petty notes, the use of the term "Thunder Road" is referencing the movie/soundtrack of the famous Robert Mitchum film about criminal bootleg runners - Springsteen has also mentioned he used that Robert Mitchum movie in coming up with his own use of that term "Thunder Road".

"Tweeter and The Monkey Man" takes place in New Jersey. So what? So did Bob Dylan's 1975 song "Hurricane". Dylan lived in South Orange, New Jersey in 1961 when he got his initial big break in Greenwich Village. There is a famous set of Dylan bootleg tapes he recorded in NJ at the time called "the South Orange tapes".

"Jersey Girl" is a pretty common term, not something Springsteen thought up - in fact the song was written by Tom Waits!

"99"? - Well Dylan has used "Highway 51" and "Highway 61" previously, so it doesn't seem strange that he would use Highway 99.

the word "factory" has been used by Dylan in 2 of his songs, not including "Tweeter and The Monkey Man". Both of these usages pre-date Springsteen's use of the word in a song.

the term "state trooper" was used by Dylan in his 1979 song "Gotta Serve Somebody" prior to its appearance in "Tweeter and The Monkey Man". This pre-dates Springsteen's use of the term in his song.

the word "surrender" has been used by Dylan in 3 of his songs, not including "Tweeter and The Monkey Man". 2 of these usages pre-date Springsteen's use of the word in a song.

the word "paradise" has been used by Dylan in 9 of his songs, not including "Tweeter and The Monkey Man". Many of these usages pre-date Springsteen's use of the word in a song.

the term "the river" has been used by Dylan in 17 of his songs, not including "Tweeter and The Monkey Man". The word "river" has been used by Dylan in an additional 14 songs by him. Many of these usages pre-date Springsteen's use of the term.


Personally I think it is a parody of Springsteen's work. Many of the Springsteen books I've read also seem to represent this as fact. This is what wiklepdia has to say on the track

Tweeter and the Monkey Man" is a song by rock music supergroup The Traveling Wilburys that first appeared on the 1988 album Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1. The songwriting credit is to all members of the band; the song most closely resembles the earlier work of Wilburys member Bob Dylan and is published by Dylan's Special Rider Music. Dylan also sings lead on the song's verses (with the rest of the group joining in on the chorus sections).

The lyrics of the song tell the gritty story of the title characters--a transsexual drug dealer nicknamed Tweeter and his partner in crime, known only as The Monkey Man--and their nemesis the "Undercover Cop". At five verses in 5 minutes 30 seconds, "Tweeter and the Monkey Man" is the longest Traveling Wilburys song put to record.

Tweeter and The Monkey Man is regarded by many fans as a parody of or homage to Bruce Springsteen's songs - in fact at least one website (lyricsdepot) has this song credited as being written by Springsteen! The song's lyrics include the titles of many Springsteen songs, and "Tweeter" borrows many of Springsteen's themes and settings. The setting of the song itself is New Jersey, Springsteen's home state. Places such as Rahway Prison and Jersey City are mentioned by name. Springsteen song title references include: "Stolen Car", "Mansion On The Hill", "Thunder Road", "State Trooper", "Factory", "The River", and the song made popular by Springsteen but written by Tom Waits, "Jersey Girl".

The Headstones sing a well known cover of Tweeter and The Monkey Man on their album Picture of Health
The sweetest songs don't last too long on Broken radios.
Originally Posted By: Gob
Quote:
...old Robert Mitchum record


I don't believe Mitchum released any records and I doubt that there was a sound tract released for that movie.

Bruce talks about seeing a movie poster, never even saw the movie.


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Robert Mitchum released "The Ballad Of Thunder Road" as a single in the USA in 1958 on Capitol Records. Even came with a VERY rare and sought after Picture Sleeve.

7" PS "THE BALLAD OF THUNDER ROAD" / My Honey's Loving Arms (Capitol F-3986) 1958

This single was re-issued by Capitol in 1962 (without the picture sleeve) and then again in 1973.
The references to Springsteen lyrics is no coincidence. In the context of all the Springsteen songtitles included in the lyrics only a lunatic would think Thunder road is refering to that Mitchum movie. I'd say it's a tounge in cheek mixture of homage and parody to the man called Bruce Springsteen. Petty denying it being a springsteen homage/parody is a funny part of the Wilbury project.

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Hey kid, you think that's oil? Man, that ain't oil that's blood

In one of the Dylan Biographies there is a reference to Dylan attending one night of either the 81 or 84 LA stand, and being so impressed he came back the next night, to see if he would be that electrifying again. And of course he was just as strong and playing a varied set. Orbison and Springsteen were friends by then, Tom Petty was cloning early Dylan when not his actual backing band. I'm tempted to call it an attempt at catching the spirit of Springsteen lyrics, or at the very least a friendly jibe.
You'll Never Walk Alone
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