Early one mornin the sun was shinin
I was layin in bed Wond rin 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 homemade dress Papa s bankbook wasn t big enough.
And I was standin on the side of the road Rain fallin on my shoes Heading 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.
She turned around to look at me As I was walkin away I heard her say over my shoulder
"We ll meet again someday on the avenue," Tangled up in blue.
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 happened to be employed Workin for a while on a fishin 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 In the spotlight so clear.
And later on as the crowd thinned out I s 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 somethin underneath my breath
She studied the lines on my face.
I must admit I felt a little uneasy When she bent down to tie the laces of my shoe
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 dealing 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And when finally the bottom fell out I became withdrawn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 carpenter s wives.
Don t know how it all got started
I 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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