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

me i'm standing on the side of the road

rain falling on my shoes

i'm heading out to 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

we split up on a sad dark night

both agreeing it was best

she turned around and looked at me

as i was walking away

then i heard her say over my shoulder

we'll meet again someday

on the avenue

tangled up in blue



i was living in the great north woods

working as a cook for a spell

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

yeah i was working for a while on a fishing boat

right outside of de la croix

and 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 at a topless bar

and i stopped in for a beer

i just kept looking at the side of her face

in the spotlight so clear

now later on as the crowd thinned out

and i was just about to do the same

yeah but she was standing there at the back of my chair

she said don't i know your name

well 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

of my shoes

we were tangled up in blue

i know i know i know



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

every one of his words rang true

and glowed like burning coal

pouring off every page

like it was written in my soul

from me to you

tangled up in blue

yeah yeah



i lived with them on montague street

in a basement down the stairs yeah

there was music in the cafes at night

and revolution in the air

that's when he started into dealing with slaves yeah

something inside of her died just died

and she had to sell everything she owned

and she froze up inside

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

oh yeah



now i'm headed back again

i gotta get to her somehow

and 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 they all got started

i don't know what they're doing with their lives

but me i'm still on the road

headed for another joint

we always did feel the same

we just saw it from a different point

of view

tangled up in blue

i know i know i know

yeah yeah oh yeah





words and music bob dylan

copyright 1974 ram's horn music