Tangled Up In Blue (Live at The Stone, San Francisco, June 1, 1981)

[Verse 1]

Early one morning the sun was shining

I was laying in bed

I wondered if she'd changed that much

If her hair was still red

Parents said our lives together

Sure was gonna be rough

Never did like mama's homemade dress

Papa's bankbook wasn't big enough

I was sitting on the side of the road

Rain falling on my shoes

Heading out for the East Coast

God knows I've paid some dues

Getting through

Tangled up in blue

[Verse 2]

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

Drove that car as far as we could

Abandoned it out West

Separated on a dark sad night

Both agreeing it was best

She turned around and called to me

As I was walking away

I heard her say over my shoulder

"We'd meet again someday on the avenue"

Tangled up in blue

[Verse 3]

I went out to the great north woods

Working as a cook for a spell

I never did like it all that much

And one day the axe just fell

I headed down to New Orleans

And I lucky was to be employed

Working for a while on a fishing boat

Right outside of Delacroix

All the while I was alone

The past was close behind

I've known a lot of women

But she never escaped my mind

And I just grew

Tangled up in blue

[Instrumental Break]

[Verse 4]

She was working in a topless place

I stopped in for a beer

I just kept looking at the side of her face

In the spotlight so clear

Later on when the crowd thinned out

I was just about to do the same

Standing there in the back of my chair

Said to me, "Don't I know 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 shoe

Tangled up in blue

[Verse 5]

She lit the burners on the stove and offered me a light

"I thought you'd never say hello," she said

"You look like the silent type."

She opened up a book of poems, handed it to me

Written by an Italian poet from the thirteenth century

Every one of them words rang true

And glowed like burning coals

Rolling off of every page

Like it was written in my soul

From me to you

Tangled up in blue

[Instrumental Break]

[Verse 6]

I lived with them on Montague Street

In a basement down the stairs

The music in the cafés at night

And revolution in the air

We started into dealing with slaves

And something inside of him died

She had to sell everything she owned

And froze up inside

Later on when the...I became withdrawn

The only thing I know how to do

Is keep on keeping on

Like a bird that flew

Tangled up in blue

[Verse 7]

Now I'm going back again

I gotta get back to her somehow

All the people that we used to know

They're an illusion to me now

Some are mathematicians

Some are carpenter's wives

Don't know how it all got started

I don't know what they do with their lives

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

[Refrain]

Tangled up in blue

Tangled up in blue

Tangled up in blue

Tangled up in blue

Tangled up in blue

[Instrumental Break]

[Outro]

We'll be back in a little while