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 bank book wasn't big enough Me I'm standing on the side of the road rain falling onto my shoes I'm heading out to the east coast Lord knows I've paid some dues Getting 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 And we drove that car as far as we could abandoned it out west We split up on a sad dark night both agreeing it was best She turned around and looked at me as I was walking away And I heard her say over my shoulder we'll meet again someday On the avenue Tangled up in blue I was living in the Great North Woods working as a cook for a spell 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 I was working for a while on a fishing boat right outside of Delacroix And all the while I was alone the past was close behind I'd seen a lot of women but she never escaped my mind And I just grew Tangled up in blue She was working at a topless bar I stopped in for a beer I kept looking at the side of her face in the spotlight so clear Now later on the crowd thinned out and I was just about to do the same But she was standing there at the back of my chair she said "don't I know your name" Well I muttered something under my breath as she studied the lines on my face And I must admit I felt a little uneasy when she bent down to tie the laces Of my shoes Tangled up in blue I know I know I know She lit a burner on the stove and 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 and handed it to me Written by an Italian poet from the thirteenth century Every one of his word rang true and glowed like burning coal Pouring off every page like it was written in my soul From me to you Tangled up in blue I lived with them on Montague Street in a basement down the stairs yeah There was music in the cafes at night and revolution in the air That's when he started into dealing with slaves yeah something inside of her just died And she had to sell everything she owned and she froze up inside Finally when the bottom fell out I became withdrawn The only thing I knew how to do was to keep on keepin' on Like a bird that flew Tangled up in blue Oooh yeah Now I'm headed back again I got to get to her somehow And all the people that I used to know they're an illusion to me now Some are mathematicians, some are carpenters' wives I don't know how they all got started don't know what they're doing with their lives But me I'm still out on the road headed for another joint We always did feel the same we just saw it from a different point Of view Tangled up in blue