Early one morning the sun was shining
I was laying in bed
Wondering 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 bank book wasn’t big enough
And I was standing on the side of the road
Rain falling on my shoes
Heading out for the East Coast
Lord knows I’ve paid some dues
Getting 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
And we drove that car as far as we could
Abandoned it out west
Spit up on a sad dark night
For (?) and it was best
She turned around and looked at me
As I was walking 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 smith
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 happened to be employed
Working for a while on a fishing boat
Right outside of De La Croix
But all the while I was alone
The past was close behind
I’d seen a lot of women
But she never escaped my mind
And I just grew
Tangled up in blue.
She was working in a topless bar
I stopped in for a beer
I just kept looking at the side of her face
In the spotlight so clear
Later on as the crowd thinned out
I was just about to do the same
She was standing there at the back of my chair
She said «Don’t I know your name?»
I muttered something 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
On 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.»
And then she opened up a book of poems
And handed it to me
Written by an Italian poet
*From the 13th century
(?) and the words rang true
And glowed like a burning coal
Pouring off every page
Like it was written on 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
There was revolution in the air
And then he started dealing in slaves
And something inside of him died
She had to sell everything she owned
She 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I became withdrawn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 going back again
Gonna 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
I don’t know how it all got started
I don’t know what they’re doing with their lives
Me, I’m still on the road
Headed for an early joint
We always did feel the same
We just saw it from a different point
Of view
Tangled up in blue.
