Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Bob Dylan's songs captivate me totally and this one is on my life's soundtrack

This song is one of my all time favorites. This is dedicated to someone that I talked to last night. You all really need to listen to this song. It is from "Blood on the Tracks", Dylan's "divorce" album--it is a magnificent ablum, btw.

"Tangled up in Blue"

Early one mornin' the sun was shinin',
I was layin' in bed.
Wond'rin' 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 bankbook 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 someday
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 ax just fell.
So I drifted down to New Orleans
Where I happened 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' 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 she opened 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 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 cafes 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 carpenter's 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.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've been listening to Leonard Cohen all morning and have been listening to a lot of Tom Waits lately, too.

Anonymous said...

I don't know Dylan much, BUT
I like this one
Oldie but good.

Serenade In Blue Lyrics

When I hear that Serenade in blue
I'm somewhere in another world, alone with you
Sharing all the joys we used to know
Many moons ago

Once again your face comes back to me
Just like the theme of some forgotten melody
In the album of my memory
Serenade in blue

It seems like only yesterday
The small cafe, a crowded floor
And as we danced the night away
I hear you say forever more
And then the song became a sigh
Forever more became the cry
Cause you remianed in my heart, so

Tell me darling in there still a spark?
Or lonely, lonley ashes of the flame, with you
Should I go on whistling in the dark,
Serenade in blue

heatherfeather said...

it's hard to say that dylan has "best" songs, but this is surely one of them.

along with most of the time, don't think twice, you're gonna make me lonesome when you go, and about 45231 others my overheated, sleep-deprived brain can't think of at the moment.

Me Myself and I said...

I looove "life soundtrack" songs. John Mayer writes the soundrack to my life.

Anonymous said...

Singer-songwriters craft the most amazing stories. poets. I am still awaiting for my dylan epiphany. joni mitchell just had her quick era in my ipod.

Chief Scientist said...

I listened to Pet Sounds and Bad Company Live in Albuquerque 1976 last night. And something called the 50 Greatest Alternative Club Classics. Well, part of it, before my head exploded.

I am telling you, whenever someone uses the term 'alternative' or 'progressive' about their music, I want to reach for a pistol.

I'm more disposed to Like A Rolling Stone, mostly because it was the first modern rock song. And it came out the year I was born. Then again, Tangled may have come out the year you were born, so there you have it.

The Grunt said...

Vera~those two dudes are good. Yer kewl!

Logo~thanks for putting up those lyrics. Very nice. Me likey.

Heather~sounds like we have similar tastes in Dylan. This is good.

Celeste!~why yes, the beauty of life soundtracks is that you can choose them. My secret life soundtrack is the theme from Hawaii Five-O. I'm really not kidding about that one either.

Guggs~Miss Mitchell is awesome. I'm currently listening to Nick Drake "Pink Moon" album on my Moto SLVR. Both Jeff Buckley and his dad Tim are great choices for non-suck folk, w/vocal gymnastics a plenty. Yeah, and they both died young and tragically.

Cash~we may be apart in age by some years, but Bad Company and Beach Boy's "Pet Sounds" are choice music selections. Hell, you already know that I love Big Star. I think that's why you hang out here. "Like a Rolling Stone" is probably without much argument the best rock'n'roll song ever. It gives me goose bumps every time I hear it. Really.

I should be sleeping right now, but I am jacked up on that Mountain Dew MDX and Vault. I'm shooting for three days straight.

Nessa said...

Always was a great song.

Crystal said...

It's a beautiful song, Grunt. You are one of the most considerate guys I know.

Anonymous said...

I put sheets of Azure on our bed,
So that later I could be with you...
Being frisky and enjoying you greatly...
Getting Tangled Up in Blue!

LOL! :)

matt of comooxdom said...

My favourite dylan line... "if you see her say hello, she might be in Tangier"

The Grunt said...

Goldie~It is good that you agree. It means that you can now hang out with me in the school parking lot and smoke a bowl.

De nada, chica.

G-Hobbs~This sounds like there's a crisis in Brittain. I'll send over some used record store nazis STAT.

I don't know who anonymous is, but I hope that you are a beautiful woman. Why? 'Cause I want to party with you. Bring a slutty milk cow. I want to get freaky.

Blogging for Scraps~I will call you BFS....uh, on second thought I'll just call you Scraps. Thanks for dropping by, and yes, that song is superb and on "Blood on the Tracks" as well. See? That album is top notch, people.

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