Released: November 2, 2018
Songwriter: Bob Dylan
Producer: Phil Ramone
[Verse 1]
Early one morning the sun was shining
And he was laying in bed
Wondering if she'd changed at all
If her hair was still red
Her folks they said their lives together
Sure was going to be rough
They never did like Mama's homemade dress
Papa's bankbook wasn't big enough
And he was standing on the side of the road
Rain falling on his shoes
Heading out for the Old East Coast
Lord knows he's paid some dues
Getting 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 walking 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 great north woods
Working as a cook for a spell
But he never liked it all that much
And one day the ax just fell
So he drifted down to L.A
Where he reckoned to try his luck
Working for a while in an airplane plant
Loading 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 working in a topless place
And I stopped in for a beer
I just kept looking at the side of her face
In the spotlight, so clear
And later on, when the crowd thinned out
I was about to do the same
She was standing there, in back of my chair
Said to me "What's 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 shoes
Tangled up in blue
[Verse 5]
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"
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 glowed like burning coal
Pouring 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 crashing 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 going 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 doctor'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
We just saw it from a different point
Of view
Tangled up in blue
Early one morning the sun was shining
And he was laying in bed
Wondering if she'd changed at all
If her hair was still red
Her folks they said their lives together
Sure was going to be rough
They never did like Mama's homemade dress
Papa's bankbook wasn't big enough
And he was standing on the side of the road
Rain falling on his shoes
Heading out for the Old East Coast
Lord knows he's paid some dues
Getting 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 walking 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 great north woods
Working as a cook for a spell
But he never liked it all that much
And one day the ax just fell
So he drifted down to L.A
Where he reckoned to try his luck
Working for a while in an airplane plant
Loading 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 working in a topless place
And I stopped in for a beer
I just kept looking at the side of her face
In the spotlight, so clear
And later on, when the crowd thinned out
I was about to do the same
She was standing there, in back of my chair
Said to me "What's 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 shoes
Tangled up in blue
[Verse 5]
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"
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 glowed like burning coal
Pouring 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 crashing 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 going 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 doctor'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
We just saw it from a different point
Of view
Tangled up in blue
more tracks from the album
The Bootleg Series Vol. 14: More Blood, More Tracks
- If You See Her, Say Hello (9/16/74, Take 1)
- You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (9/17/74, Take 1, Remake)
- Idiot Wind (9/19/74, Take 4, Remake)
- Meet Me in the Morning (9/19/74, Take 1, Remake)
- Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts (9/16/74, Take 2)
- Buckets of Rain (9/18/74, Take 2, Remake)
- You’re a Big Girl Now (9/16/74, Take 2)
- Shelter from the Storm (9/17/74, Take 1)
- Simple Twist of Fate (9/16/74, Take 3A)
- Tangled Up in Blue (9/19/74, Take 3, Remake 3)
- Up to Me (9/19/74, Take 2, Remake)
From the album
Bob Dylan popular songs
- Murder Most Foul
- Blowin’ in the Wind
- The Times They Are A-Changin’
- All Along the Watchtower
- Like a Rolling Stone
- Make You Feel My Love
- Hurricane
- Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
- Mr. Tambourine Man
- A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
- Subterranean Homesick Blues
- Desolation Row
- Tangled Up in Blue
- Masters of War
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
- It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
- Girl from the North Country
- Tempest
- It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
- Ballad of a Thin Man
- Visions of Johanna
- I Contain Multitudes
- To Fall in Love with You
- Shelter from the Storm