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 breat