Tangled Up In Blue
Rolling Thunder Revue Lyrics

Early one mornin' the sun was shinin'
It was a bright and sunny day, early in the morning.

I was layin' in bed
I was lying in bed.

Wondrin' if she'd changed at all
I was wondering if she had changed in any way.

If her hair was still red
I was wondering if her hair color was still red.

Her folks they said our lives together
Her parents predicted that we would have a difficult life together.

Sure was gonna be rough
They were sure that it would be difficult.

They never did like Mama's homemade dress
They did not like the dress that her mother made.

Papa's bank book wasn't big enough
They thought that her father did not have enough money.

And I was standin' on the side of the road
I was standing on the side of the road.

Rain fallin' on my shoes
It was raining and my shoes were getting wet.

Heading out for the east coast
I was going towards the east coast.

Lord knows I've paid some dues
I have suffered and paid the price for my actions.

Gettin' through
I am getting through the difficulties of my life.

Tangled up in blue
I am caught up and confused by my feelings for her.

She was married when we first met
She was already married when we first met.

Soon to be divorced
She was going to get a divorce soon.

I helped her out of a jam I guess
I helped her out of a difficult situation, I suppose.

But I used a little too much force
I used too much force to help her.

We drove that car as far as we could
We drove the car as far as possible.

Abandoned it out west
We left the car in the west and continued on foot.

Split up on a dark sad night
We parted ways on a sad and dark night.

Both agreeing it was best
We both agreed that it was for the best.

She turned around to look at me
She turned around to look at me as I walked away.

As I was walkin' away
I was walking away from her.

I heard her say over my shoulder
I heard her voice as she spoke to me from behind.

We'll meet again some day
We will meet again someday in the future.

On the avenue
We will meet on the avenue.

I had a job in the great north woods
I worked in the northern woods for a period of time.

Working as a cook for a spell
I worked as a cook for a while.

But I never did like it all that much
I did not really enjoy it.

And one day the axe just fell
One day I lost my job unexpectedly.

So I drifted down to New Orleans
I traveled to New Orleans without a clear goal.

Where I was looking for to be employed
I was looking for work there.

Workin' for a while on a fishin' boat
I worked on a fishing boat for a while.

Right outside of Delacroix
It was outside the town of Delacroix.

But all the while I was alone
I was alone all the time.

The past was close behind
My past kept haunting me.

I seen a lot of women
I have met many women.

But she never escaped my mind
However, she was always on my mind.

And I just grew
I just kept living and growing.

She was workin' in a topless place
She worked in a strip club.

And I stopped in for a beer
I went there to have a beer.

I just kept lookin' at the side of her face
I kept staring at her profile.

In the spotlight so clear
She was clearly visible in the spotlight.

And later on as the crowd thinned out
Later when the crowd had left.

I's just about to do the same
I was also about to leave.

She was standing there in back of my chair
She was standing behind my chair.

Said to me, Don't I know your name?
She asked me if she knew my name.

I muttered somethin' under my breath
I whispered something to myself.

She studied the lines on my face
She carefully examined my face.

I must admit I felt a little uneasy
I must confess that I felt a little uncomfortable.

When she bent down to tie the laces
When she kneeled to tie my shoelaces.

Of my shoe
She tied my shoelaces.

She lit a burner on the stove
She turned on the stove.

And offered me a pipe
She offered me a pipe to smoke.

I thought you'd never say hello, she said
She said that she thought I would never greet her.

You look like the silent type
She commented that I look like a quiet person.

Then she opened up a book of poems
She showed me a book of poems.

And handed it to me
She gave the book to me.

Written by an Italian poet
It was written by an Italian poet.

From the thirteenth century
It was written in the thirteenth century.

And everyone of them words rang true
Every word in the book was true.

And glowed like burnin' coal
They shone like burning coals.

Pourin' off of every page
They were flowing off every page.

Like it was written in my soul
It felt like the words were written in my soul.

From me to you
They spoke from me to you.

I lived with them on Montague Street
I lived with those words on Montague Street.

In a basement down the stairs
I lived in a basement downstairs.

There was music in the cafés at night
There was music in the cafes at night.

And revolution in the air
The air was filled with the spirit of revolution.

Then he started into dealing with slaves
He started dealing with slaves.

And something inside of him died
Something within him died as a result.

She had to sell everything she owned
She had to sell all of her possessions.

And froze up inside
She became cold and frozen inside.

And when finally the bottom fell out
When everything fell apart finally.

I became withdrawn
I became distant and unapproachable.

The only thing I knew how to do
The only thing I knew how to do was to keep moving forward.

Was to keep on keepin' on
I just kept on going and doing what I knew how to do.

Like a bird that flew
Like a bird that keeps flying.

So now I'm goin' back again
Now I am returning again.

I got to get to her somehow
I must find a way to reach her.

All the people we used to know
All the people we used to know.

They're an illusion to me now
They seem like an illusion to me now.

Some are mathematicians
Some are mathematicians now.

Some are carpenters' wives
Some have become carpenters' wives.

Don't know how it all got started
I do not know how it all began.

I don't know what they're doin' with their lives
I do not know what they are doing with their lives.

But me, I'm still on the road
As for me, I am still on the road.

Headin' for another joint
Heading towards another place.

We always did feel the same
We always felt the same about each other.

We just saw it from a different point of view
We had a different perspective on things.