Intro
A# A#sus4 A# A#sus4
[Verse 1]
A# G#6
Early one mornin' the sun was shinin',
A# G#6
I was layin' in bed
A# G#6
Wond'rin' if she'd changed at all
D#
If her hair was still red.
A# G#6
Her folks they said our lives together
A# G#6
Sure was gonna be rough
A# G#6
They never did like Mama's homemade dress
D#
Papa's bankbook wasn't big enough.
F Gm
And I was standin' on the side of the road
A# D#
Rain fallin' on my shoes
F Gm
Heading out for the East Coast
A# D# F
Lord knows I've paid some dues gettin' through,
G# D# A# A#sus A# A#sus
Tangled up in blue.
[Verse 2]
A# G#6
She was married when we first met
A# G#6
Soon to be divorced
A# G#6
I helped her out of a jam, I guess,
D#
But I used a little too much force.
A# G#6
We drove that car as far as we could
A# G#6
Abandoned it out West
A# G#6
Split up on a dark sad night
D#
Both agreeing it was best.
F Gm
She turned around to look at me
A# D#
As I was walkin' away
F Gm
I heard her say over my shoulder,
A# D# F
"We'll meet again someday on the avenue,"
G# D# A# A#sus A# A#sus
Tangled up in blue.
[Verse 3]
A# G#6
I had a job in the great north woods
A# G#6
Working as a cook for a spell
A# G#6
But I never did like it all that much
D#
And one day the ax just fell.
A# G#6
So I drifted down to New Orleans
A# G#6
Where I happened to be employed
A# G#6
Workin' for a while on a fishin' boat
D#
Right outside of Delacroix.
F Gm
But all the while I was alone
A# D#
The past was close behind,
F Gm
I seen a lot of women
A# D# F
But she never escaped my mind, and I just grew
G# D# A# A#sus A# A#sus
Tangled up in blue.
[Verse 4]
A# G#6
She was workin' in a topless place
A# G#6
And I stopped in for a beer,
A# G#6
I just kept lookin' at the side of her face
D#
In the spotlight so clear.
A# G#6
And later on as the crowd thinned out
A# G#6
I's just about to do the same,
A# G#6
She was standing there in back of my chair
D#
Said to me, "Don't I know your name?"
F Gm
I muttered somethin' underneath my breath,
A# D#
She studied the lines on my face.
F Gm
I must admit I felt a little uneasy
A# D# F
When she bent down to tie the laces of my shoe,
G# D# A# A#sus A# A#sus
Tangled up in blue.
[Verse 5]
A# G#6
She lit a burner on the stove
A# G#6
and offered me a pipe
A# G#6
"I thought you'd never say hello," she said
D#
"You look like the silent type."
A# G#6
Then she opened up a book of poems
A# G#6
And handed it to me
A# G#6
Written by an Italian poet
D#
From the thirteenth century.
F Gm
And every one of them words rang true
A# D#
And glowed like burnin' coal
F Gm
Pourin' off of every page
A# D# F
Like it was written in my soul from me to you,
G# D# A# A#sus A# A#sus
Tangled up in blue.
[Verse 6]
A# G#6
I lived with them on Montague Street
A# G#6
In a basement down the stairs,
A# G#6
There was music in the cafes at night
D#
And revolution in the air.
A# G#6
Then he started into dealing with slaves
A# G#6
And something inside of him died.
A# G#6
She had to sell everything she owned
D#
And froze up inside.
F Gm
And when finally the bottom fell out
A# D#
I became withdrawn,
F Gm
The only thing I knew how to do
A# D# F
Was to keep on keepin' on like a bird that flew,
G# D# A# A#sus A# A#sus
Tangled up in blue.
[Verse 7]
A# G#6
So now I'm goin' back again,
A# G#6
I got to get to her somehow.
A# G#6
All the people we used to know
D#
They're an illusion to me now.
A# G#6
Some are mathematicians
A# G#6
Some are carpenter's wives.
A# G#6
Don't know how it all got started,
D#
I don't know what they're doin' with their lives.
F Gm
But me, I'm still on the road
A# D#
Headin' for another joint
F Gm
We always did feel the same,
A# D# F
We just saw it from a different point of view,
G# D# A# A#sus A# A#sus
Tangled up in blue.