Tangled Up in Blue

Then she opened up a book of poems

She had to sell everything she owned

So now I'm goin' back again
She was standing there in back of my chair

Tangled up in blue
Wonderin' if she'd changed at all
And glowed like burnin' coal
I lived with them on Montague street

I became withdrawn
She was workin' in a topless place
Was to keep on keepin' on like a bird that flew
Tangled up in blue
And something inside of him died
And we froze up inside
And I just grew
And offered me a pipe

They never did like mama's homemade dress
I must admit I felt a little uneasy
Some are carpenter's wives
"I thought you'd never say hello", she said
Where I happened to be employed
And revolution in the air
We always did feel the same

The past was close behind
In the spotlight so clear
Tangled up in blue
Written by an Italian poet
And I stopped in for a beer
We drove that car as far as we could
In a basement down the stairs
Right outside of Delacroix

Lord knows I've paid some dues gettin' through
Both agreeing it was best
But I used a little too much force
The only thing I knew how to do
From the thirteenth century
But all the while I was alone
They're an illusion to me now
There was music in the cafes at night
Headin' for another joint
But me, I'm still on the road
And I was standin' on the side of the road
And when in finally the bottom fell out
Soon to be divorced
Workin' for a while on a fishin' boat
Heading out for the east coast
Then he started into dealing with slaves
And she turned around to look at me
I got to get to her somehow
And later on when the crowd thinned out
And every one of them words rang true

But I never did like it all that much
We just saw it from a different point of view
If her hair was still red
Tangled up in blue

Said to me, "Don't I know your name?"

And one day the axe just fell
As I was walkin' away
When she bent down to tie the laces of my shoe
She lit a burner on the stove
So I drifted down to New Orleans

I just kept lookin' at the side of her face
Her folks they said our lives together
Sure was gonna be rough
Rain fallin' on my shoes
I had a job in my great north woods
Tangled up in blue
And handed it to me
I heard her say over my shoulder
I don't know what they're doin' with their lives
Like it was written in my soul from me to you
Don't know how it all got started
"You look like the silent type"
Some are mathematicians
She studied the lines on my face

I's just about to do the same
Tangled up in blue
Working as a cook for a spell
Papa's bankbook wasn't big enough
I seen a lot of women, but she never escaped my mind

Split up on a dark sad night

She was married when we first met
All the people we used to know
Abandoned it out west
I helped her out of a jam, I guess

I muttered somethin' underneath my breath
"We'll meet again someday on the avenue"
Pourin' off of every page