Jerry Garcia Tangled Up In Blue
Early one morning the sun was shinin' I was layin' in bed (note 1) Wondering if she'd changed at all If her hair was still red Her folks they said that our lives together Sure was gonna be rough They never did like Mama's home-made dress Papa's bank book wasn't big enough And I was standing on the side of the road Rain falling on my shoes Heading out for the old east coast Lord knows I've paid some dues (note 2) Getting through Tangled up in blue
She was married when we first met (note 3) 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 the docks that night Both agreeing it was best She turned around to look at me As I was walking away I heard her say over her shoulder We'll meet again some day On the avenue Tangled up in Blue
I had a job in the great north woods (note 4) 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 My luck it was to be employed Workin' for a while on a fishing 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 working in topless place (note 5) And I stopped in for a beer I just kept looking at the side of her face In the spotlight so clear And later on when the crowd thinned out I was 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 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 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 open 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 glowed like burning 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 cafes at night And revolution in the air Then he started dealing in 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died She had to sell everything she owned And froze up inside And when finally the bottom fell out (note 6) I became withdrawn The only thing I knew how to do Was to keep on keeping on Like a bird that flew Tangled up in blue
So now I'm going on 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 do 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
Tangled up in blue Tangled up in blue [etc]
