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