Tangled Up In Blue

Early one mornin', the sun was shinin'

I was lyin' in bed

Wonderin' if she had changed at all

If her hair was still red

And her folks had said our lives together

It sure was gonna be rough

They never did like mama's homemade dress

Papa's bank book wasn't big enough

And she was standin' on the side of the road

As rain's fallin' on my shoes

I'm headin' out for the old 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

So, we drove that car as far as we could

Abandoned it out West

Split up on a dark, sad night

Both agreein' it was best

Then, she turned around and looked at me

As I was walking away

I heard her say over my shoulder

"We're gonna meet again some day

On the avenue"

We got tangled up in blue

So, I had a job in the great North woods

Working as a cook for a spell

But, I never did like it all that much

And one day the ax just fell

So, I drifted down to New Orleans

Where I was lucky enough 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 me

I've seen a lot of women

But, she never escaped my mind

Yeah, I just grew

Tangled up in blue

Oh, oh, huh

Yeah

She was workin' in a topless place

And I'd stopped in for a beer

I just kept lookin' at the side of her face

In the spotlight, so clear

Then, later on, as the crowd thinned out

I was just about to do the same

She was standin' there, at the back of the chair

Singin' "Tell me, don't I know your name?"

I muttered somethin' underneath the breath

She studied the lines on my face

I must admit, I felt a little uneasy

When she bent to tie the lace

On my shoe

We got tangled up in blue

So, she lit the burner on the stove

And offered me a pipe

"I thought that you would never say hello" She said

"You look like the silent type"

Then she opened up a book of poems

Handed it to me

Written by an Italian poet

In the thirteenth century

And every one of those words rang true

Glowed like burnin' coal

Pourin' off of every page

Like it's written in my soul

From me to you

Tangled up in blue

So, now, now, now

I lived with them on Montague Street

In a basement down the stairs

There was music in the cafes at night

A revolution in the air

'Til he started in to dealing with slaves

Something inside of him died

She had to sell everything they owned

Then froze up inside

And finally, as 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

We got tangled up in blue

Well, now I'm goin' back again

Gotta get to her, somehow

All the people that we used to know

They're an illusion to me now

Some are mathematicians

Some are carpenter's wives

We don't know how this got started

Don't know what'd we do with our lives

Me, I'm still on the road

Headed for another joint

We didn't always see the same

And we started from a different point

Of view

Tangled up in blue