Tangled Up In Blue

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 said our lives together
 Sure was gonna be rough
 Never did like Papa's homemade dress
 Mama's bankbook wasn't big enough
 I was standing on the side of the road
 Rain falling on my shoes
 Heading out for the east coast
 Lord knows I 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 herself I guess
 But I used a little too much force
 We drove that car as far as we could
 Abandoned it out West
 Split up on a dark sad night
 Both agreeing it was best
 I turned around to look at her
 She was a-walking away
 I heard her say over my shoulder
 "We'll meet again someday
 On the Avenue
 Tangled up in blue."
 I was working in the great north woods
 Working as a cook for a spell
 But I never did like it all that much
 And one day the axe just fell
 So I drifted down to New Orleans
 Looking for to be employed
 Workin' for awhile on a fishing boat
 Right outside of Delacroix
 But all the while I was alone
 The past was close behind
 I saw a lot of women
 But she never escaped my mind
 And I just grew
 Tangled up in blue
 She was working in a topless place
 And I stopped in for a top
 I said I was missing half of my face
 She said "You've come to the wrong shop."
 Later on when the crowd thinned out
 I was just about to do the same
 She was standing there in the back of my chair
 She said "Don't I know your name?"
 I murmured 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 lace
 Of my shoe
 Tangled up in blue
 She lit a burner on the stove
 And offered me a pipe
 I thought she'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 flowed like burning coal
 Pouring off of every page like it was written in my soul
 From me to you
 Tangled up in blue
 I lived with them on Montague Street
 A basement down the stairs
 There was music in the cafes at night
 Revolution in the air
 Then he started into dealing with slaves
 And something inside of him died
 I had to sell him everything I owned
 And froze up inside
 Later on on the bottom fell out
 I became withdrawn
 The only thing I knew how to do
 Was how to keep on keepin' on
 Like a bird that flew
 In blue
 So now I'm goin' back again
 I got to get to her somehow
 All of these people I used to know
 They're an illusion now
 Some are mathematicians
 Some are carpenters' wives
 I don't know how they got started
 I don't know what they're doing with their lives
 But me, I'm still on the road
 Headin' for another joint
 We always did feel the same
 We just saw it from a different point
 Of view
 Tangled up in blue
 Go Bill, yeah!