Early one mornin the sun was shining
I was layin in bed
Wonderin if she d changed at all
If her hair was still red.
Her folks they said our lives together
Sure was gonna be rough
They never did like Mama s home made dress
Papa s bank book wasn t big enough.
And I was standin on the side of the road
Rain fallin on my shoes
Headin out for the east coast
Lord knows I ve paid some dues
Gettin through
Tangled up in blue.
She was married when we first met
Soon to be divorced
I helped her out of a jam I guess
But I used a little too much force.
We drove that car as far as we could
Abandoned it out west
Split up on a dark sad night
Both agreeing it was best.
Well she turned around and looked at me
As I was walkin away
I heard her say over my shoulder
We ll meet again some day
On the avenue
Tangled up in blue.
I had a job in the great north woods
Workin as a cook for a spell
But I never did like it all that much
And one day the axe just fell.
So I drifted down to New Orleans
Where I lucky was to be employed
Workin for a while on a fishing boat
Right outside of Delacroix.
But all the while I was alone
The past was close behind
I seen a lot of women
But she never escaped my mind
And I just grew
Tangled up in blue.
She was workin in a topless place
And I stopped in for a beer
I just kept lookin at the side of her face
And the spotlight so clear.
And later on when the crowd thinned out
I was just about to do the same
She was standing there in back of my chair
Said to me don t I know your name
I muttered something underneath my breath
She stared at the lines of my face.
I must admit I felt a little uneasy
When she bent down to tie the laces of my shoes
Tangled up in blue.
She lit a burner on the stove
And offered me a pipe
I thought you d never say hello she said
You look like the silent type.
Then she opened up a book of poems
And handed it to me
Written by an Italian poet from the thirteenth century.
And every one of them words rang true
And glowed like burnin coal
Pourin off of every page
Like it was written in my soul
From me to you
Tangled up in blue.
I lived with them on Montague Street
In a basement down the stairs
There was music in the cafes at night
And revolution in the air.
Then he started into dealin with slaves
And something inside of him died
She had to sell everything she owned
And froze up inside.
And when finally the bottom fell out
I became withdrawn
The only thing I knew how to do was to keep on keepin on
Like a bird that flew
Tangled up in blue.
So now I m goin back again
I got to get to her somehow
All the people we used to know
They re an illusion to me now.
Some are mathematicians
Some are carpenters wives
Don t know how it got started
Don t know what they re doin with their lives.
But me I m still on the road
Headin for another joint
We always did feel the same
We just saw it from a different point
Of view
Tangled up in blue.
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