TANGLED UP IN BLUE
Bob Dylan


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 looking' 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.