Tangled Up in Blue

Bob Dylan

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 standin' on the side of the road
Rain fallin' on my shoes
Heading out for the east coast
Lord knows I've paid some dues
Gettin' through
Tangled up in blue

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
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
She turned around to look at me
As I was walkin' away
I heard her say over my 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 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
Where I was looking for to be employed
Workin' for a while on a fishin' boat
Right outside of Delacroix
But all the while I was alone
The past was close behind
I seen a lot of women
But she never escaped my mind
And I just grew
Tangled up in blue

She was workin' in a topless place
And I stopped in for a beer
I just kept lookin' at the side of her face
In the spotlight so clear
And later on as the crowd thinned out
I's just about to do the same
She was standing there in back of my chair
Said to me, Don't I know your name?
I muttered somethin' under 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

She lit a burner on the stove
And offered me a pipe
I thought you'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 everyone of them words rang true
And glowed like burnin' coal
Pourin' 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
In a basement down the stairs
There was music in the cafés at night
And revolution in the air
Then he started into dealing with slaves
And something inside of him died
She had to 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I became withdrawn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 do
Was to keep on keepin' on
Like a bird that flew
Tangled up in blue

So now I'm goin' back again
I got to get to her somehow
All the people we used to know
They're an illusion to me now
Some are mathematicians
Some are carpenters' wives
Don't know how it all got started
I don't know what they're doin' 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


Lyrics submitted by typo, edited by james44, RobLewis, MusicalManiac1

Tangled Up In Blue Lyrics as written by Bob Dylan

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Tangled Up in Blue song meanings
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  • +9
    General CommentPush comes to shove "Tangled Up In Blue" and The Beatles' "In My Life" are my all-time favorite songs. The lyrics to "Tangled Up In Blue" are truly a thing of genius.

    Imo the phrase "tangled up in blue" essentially refers to his life-long struggle with the sorrow and frustration of having lost this woman, the love of his life. No matter what he is doing with his life - various jobs and relationships and life circumstances - this woman he loves but lost many years ago is always on his mind. He can't ever truly shake her memory.

    Every line is greatness but the final verse is my favorite, particularly "All the people we used to know/ they're an illusion to me now/some are mathmeticians/some are carpenter's wives/don't know how it all got started/I don't know what they do with their lives" and "we always did feel the same we just saw it from a different point of view/tangled up in blue".

    How does one write something this incredibly inspired?
    Rickveeon August 17, 2011   Link
  • +5
    General Comment'this is a song that took my ten years to live and two years to write.' - uncle bob
    kingmikekingon April 10, 2004   Link
  • +5
    Song MeaningI think some of these comments might be reading a little too much into the verse "I must admit I felt a little uneasy when she bent down to tie the laces of my shoe." I think it's pretty straightforward sexual imagery. Remember, she's a topless dancer. When she bends down in front of him, her breasts are dangling before him, and her butt is in the air, in a rather exposed, proceptive position. Very sexy, and very lyrical that Dylan can conjure up such imagery without using language as blunt as in my description.
    billton June 02, 2009   Link
  • +4
    General CommentI have always had a theory about that intriguing sixth verse--seems it might include a reference to the famous relationship between Verlaine and Rimbaud to which he refers directly in "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go." Verlaine, I believe, did deal in slaves (literal slaves) later in his life, and "music in the cafes and night and revolution in the air" could refer to the Paris Communard uprising of 1871, which Verlaine and Rimbaud lived through. The only thing that doesn't quite fit is the Montague Street bit....
    DJacques75on May 24, 2004   Link
  • +3
    General CommentAh MarshmallowPeep, though Dante's Divine Comedy may not be the most romantic work, it was most definitely not his only one. He wrote several books, including Convivio, and La Vita Nuevo in which he describes his undying love for a girl named Beatrice which follows Tangled Up in Blue somewhat closely.
    Trivial Sublimeon October 29, 2004   Link
  • +3
    General Comment1-She just does. They were untied when he was there at the nightclub watching her dance, and she comes after her show and speaks to him. Sexy. And he's all nervious. Excellent writing.
    2-When things started going wrong, she started prostituing herself, being pimped by another friend who used to be a part of the gang while they were together

    Anyway, I sometimes think that they'r all different women, but he sees them all as one inmortal female.

    There's an awesome idea to consider. All the women of your past being different in body, but deep down, the same soul. The same one.
    cavernon February 03, 2005   Link
  • +3
    General CommentIs it just me or does anyone else ever think that Dylan may well be singing to a woman he actually had a relationship with, but at the same time hes singing about his own personal journey and relationship with the human race as a whole. The woman personafies the human race. He heads out to the east( capitalist 'right') and gets her out of a jam, using a little to much force( suggesting his naivity about his hopes for saving her[and people being able to live as sosialists]) then they drive out west( sosialist left) as fast as they could, abandon the car and go their seperate ways( when the initial rush has all run out). The poet is a figurative representation of Dylans muse. he lives with them both( his relationship with human race and his muse[the three parts of what is his artistry]) in a basement( within/absorbed in) Montague street in Greenwhich village. This refers to his time living there and playing in the cafes at night, when he developed as an artist. When he says finally the bottom fell out hes talking about that period of his life, living in greenwhich village, playing in cafes with the revolutionary atmosphere in the air. 'Tangled up in blue'
    aidanowenon April 09, 2011   Link
  • +2
    General Commentprobably my favorite bob dylan song. it is so good. the lyrics are pure poetry. one of the best stories ever put to music.
    kingmikekingon October 14, 2002   Link
  • +2
    General Commentsnobbish? ok MASTERMUSICIAN!
    fight_the_waron December 24, 2005   Link
  • +2
    General CommentI'd always presumed her bending down to tye the laces of his shoes to be a biblical allusion, to the woman who washed Jesus feet at the house of the Pharisee.
    SuitBoyon September 05, 2006   Link

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