[Verse 1]
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 bankbook wasn't big enough
I was standing on the side of the road
Rain falling in my shoes
Heading out for the East Coast
Lord knows I've paid some dues
Coming through
Tangled up in blue

[Verse 2]
She was married when we first met
Soon to be divorced
I helpеd her out of a jam I guess
But I used a littlе 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 walking away
I heard her say over her shoulder
"We'll meet again someday
On the avenue"
Tangled up in blue
[Verse 3]
I had a job in the great north woods
Working as a cook for a spell
Never did like it all that much
One day the ax just fell
I drifted down to New Orleans
Waitin’ to implode
Working for a while on a fishing boat
Right outside of Delacroix
All the while I was alone
The past was close behind
I seen a lot of women
But they never escaped my mind
And I just grew
Tangled up in blue

[Verse 4]
She was working in a topless place
I stopped in for a beer
Just looking at the side of her face
In the spotlight so clear
Later on as the crowd thinned out
I was about to do the same
She was standing there in back of my chair
Muttered, “hi, 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
Of my shoe
Tangled up in blue
[Verse 5]
She lit a burner on the stove
Offered me a pipe
"I thought you'd never say hello," she said
"You look like the silent type"
And she opened up a book of poems
Handed it to me
Written by an Italian poet
From the thirteenth century
And every one of those words rang true
And glowed like burning coal
Pouring out of every page
Like it was written in my soul
From me to you
Tangled up in blue

[Verse 6]
I lived with them on Montague street
In a basement down the stairs
There was music in the cafés 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 finally when the bottom fell out
I became withdrawn
The only thing I knew how to do
Was to keep on keeping on
Like a bird that flew
Tangled up in blue
[Verse 7]
So now I'm going back again
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
Don't know what they’re doing with their lives
But me I'm still on the road
Heading for another joint
We always did feel the same
Just saw it from a different point
Of view
Tangled up in blue