Tangled up in blue
She was married when they first met
So now I'm going back again
And he was standin' on the side of the road
Too busy or too stoned
She lit a burner on the stove
I became withdrawn
Was keep on keepin' on like a bird that flew
Workin' for a while on an airplane plant
We thought they were successful
The past was close behind
With objects and material things
"You look like the silent type"
Loading cargo on to a truck
She was workin' in a topless place
But I never was impressed
I muttered somethin' underneath my breath
Tangled up in blue
And they drove that car as far as they could
Written by an Italian poet
She said, "This can't be the end
She studied the lines on my face
And every one of them words rang true
He had a job in the old North Woods
But me, I'm still on the road
We just saw it from a different point of view
We always did feel the same
He'd seen a lot of women
Then she opened up a book of poems
Tangled up in blue
But she never escaped his mind, and he just grew
I got to get to her somehow
Rain fallin' on his shoes
He helped her out of a jam, I guess
And when it all came crashin' down
The only thing I knew how to do
Don't know what they're doin' with their lives
Workin' as a cook for a spell
And offered me a pipe
And she turned around to look at him
I stopped in for beer
But he used a little too much force
Heading out for the old East Coast
Her folks, they said, our lives together
"I thought you'd never say hello", she said
They're an illusion to me now
'Cause he was walkin' away
They never did like Mama's homemade dress
And split up on a dark sad night
Lord knows, he's paid some dues gettin' through
Both agreein' it was best
When he drifted down to L.A.
And later on, as the crowd thinned out
From the thirteenth century
Just had to be postponed
Like it was written in my soul, from me to you
She was standing there in back of my chair
And handed it to me
He was always in a hurry
Papa's bankbook wasn't big enough
She thought they were blessed
Said to me, "What's your name?"
If her hair was still red
Pourin' off of every page
But he never did like it all that much
In the spotlight so clear
When she bent down to tie the laces of my shoe
And one day the ax just fell
Tangled up in blue
We'll meet on another day, on the avenue"
And everything that she ever planned
Some are mathematicians
All the people we used to know
But all the while he was alone
I was about to do the same
Tangled up in blue
Abandoned it out west
Tangled up in blue
Sure was gonna be rough
Don't know how it all got started
And glowed like burnin' coal
Soon to be divorced
Wonderin' if she'd changed at all
Where he reckoned to try his luck
Some are doctor's wives
I must admit I felt a little uneasy
I just kept lookin' at the side of her face
Headin' for another joint
