Tangled Up In Blue

Early one mornin' the sun was shinin'
I was layin' in bed
Wondrin' 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
And I was [Am7]standin' on [C7]the side of the ɾoad
Rain fallin' on [C7]my [A]shoes
Heading out for [Dm7]the east coast
Lord knows I've paid some dues
Gettin' through
Tangled up in blue

She was [Am7]married when we first met
Soon [C7]to [C7]be [Am]divorced
I helped her out of a jam 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 [C7]a dark sad night
Both agreeing it was [Am7]best
She turned around to [C7]look at me
As I was [Am7]walkin' away
I heard her say over my [A]shoulder
We'll meet again some day
On the avenue
Tangled up in blue

I had a job in the great north woods
Working as a cook for [Dm7]a spell
But I never did like [F]it all [Em]that much
And one day the axe just fell
So I drifted down to [C7]New Orleans
Where I was [Am7]looking for [Dm7]to [C7]be [Am]employed
Workin' for [Dm7]a while on [C7]a fishin' boat
Right outside of Delacroix
But all [Em]the while I was [Am7]alone
The past was [Am7]close behind
I seen a lot of women
But she never escaped my [A]mind
And I just grew
Tangled up in blue

She was [Am7]workin' in a topless place
And I stopped in for [Dm7]a beer
I just kept lookin' at the side of her face
In the spotlight so clear
And later on [C7]as the crowd thinned out
I's just about to [C7]do the same
She was [Am7]standing there in back of my [A]chair
Said to [C7]me, Don't I know your name?
I muttered somethin' under my [A]breath
She studied the lines on [C7]my [A]face
I must admit I felt a little uneasy
When she bent down to [C7]tie the laces
Of my [A]shoe
Tangled up in blue

She lit a burner on [C7]the stove
And offered me a pipe
I thought you'd never say hello, she said
You look like [F]the silent type
Then she opened up a book of poems
And handed it to [C7]me
Written by an Italian poet
From the thirteenth century
And everyone of them [A]words ɾang tɾue
And glowed like [F]burnin' coal
Pourin' off of every page
Like it was [Am7]written in my [A]soul
From me to [C7]you
Tangled up in blue

I lived with them [A]on [C7]Montague Stɾeet
In a basement down the stairs
There was [Am7]music in the cafés at night
And ɾevolution [C7]in the air
Then he started into [C7]dealing with slaves
And something inside of him died
She had to [C7]sell everything she owned
And froze up inside
And when finally the bottom fell out
I became withdrawn
The only thing I knew how to [C7]do
Was to [C7]keep on [C7]keepin' on
Like a bird that flew
Tangled up in blue

So now I'm goin' back again
I got [Fm7]to [C7]get to [C7]her somehow
All the people we used to [C7]know
They're an illusion [C7]to [C7]me now
Some are mathematicians
Some are carpenters' wives
Don't know how it all [Em]got [Fm7]started
I don't know what they're doin' with their lives
But me, I'm still on [C7]the ɾoad
Headin' for [Dm7]another joint
We always did feel the same
We just saw it from a different point of view
Tangled up in blue