[Verse 1]
Early one mornin' the sun was shinin'
He was lyin' in bed
Wondrin' if she'd changed at all
If her hair was still red
Her folks they said their lives together
Sure was gonna be rough
They never did like mama's homemade dress
Papa's bankbook wasn't big enough
And he was standin' on the side of the road
Rain fallin' on his shoes
Headin' out for the old East Coast
Lord knows he's paid some dues, gettin' through
Tangled up in blue

[Verse 2]
She was married when they first met
Soon to be divorced
He helped her out of a jam I guess
But he used a little too much force
And they drove that car as far as they could
Abandoned it out west
And split up on a dark sad night
Both agreeing it was best
And she turned around to look at him
As he was walkin' away
She said, "This can't be the end
We'll meet on another day, on the avenue
Tangled up in blue."
[Verse 3]
He had a job in the old north woods
Workin' as a cook for a spell
But he never did like it all that much
And one day the axe just fell
When he drifted down to L.A.
Where he reckoned to try his luck
Workin' for a while in an airplane plant
Loadin' cargo onto a truck
But all the while he was alone
The past was close behind
He seen a lot of women
But she never escaped his mind and he just grew
Tangled up in blue

[Verse 4]
She was workin' in a topless place
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 about to do the same
She was standin' there, in back of my chair
Said, "Tell me, what's your name?"
I muttered somethin' underneath my breath
She studied the lines of 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
[Verse 5]
She lit a burner on the stove
And offered me a pipe
"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 flowed like burning coal
Pourin' off of every page
Like it was written in my soul from me to you
Tangled up in blue

[Verse 6]
He was always in a hurry
Too busy or too stoned
And everything that she ever planned
Just had to be postponed
He thought they were successful
She thought they were blessed
With objects and material things
But I never was impressed
And when it all came crashin' down
I became withdrawn
The only thing I knew how to do
Was keep on keepin' on like a bird that flew
Tangled up in blue
[Verse 7]
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 doctors' wives
Don't know how it all got started
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