Tangled Up In Blue – English Lyrics

• By: Bob Dylan

Lyrics & Translation

Learning English through Bob Dylan's 'Tangled Up in Blue' offers a unique opportunity to engage with rich, poetic storytelling. The song's sophisticated vocabulary and non-linear narrative will challenge and expand your understanding of language. Its exploration of complex emotions and timeless themes of love and memory makes it a universally relatable and deeply moving piece of music, providing a special connection to the heart of American songwriting.

[English]

("Tangled Up In Blue" by Bob Dylan)

♪ Early one morning the sun was shining ♪

♪ She was laying in bed ♪

♪ Wondering 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 he was standing on the side of the road ♪

♪ Rain falling on his shoes ♪

♪ Heading out for the East Coast ♪

♪ Lord knows I've paid some dues getting through ♪

♪ Tangled up in blue ♪

♪ She was married when they first met ♪

♪ Soon to be divorced ♪

♪ He helped her out of a jam I guess ♪

♪ But he used a little too much force ♪

♪ He 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 him ♪

♪ As he was walking away ♪

♪ Saying over her shoulder ♪

♪ We'll meet again someday on the avenue ♪

♪ Tangled up in blue ♪

♪ He had a job in Santa Fe ♪

♪ Working in an old hotel ♪

♪ But he never did like it all that much ♪

♪ And one day it just went to hell ♪

♪ So he drifted down to New Orleans ♪

♪ Lucky not to be destroyed ♪

♪ Got him a job on the fishing boat ♪

♪ Parked outside of Delacroix ♪

♪ But all the while he was alone ♪

♪ The past was close behind ♪

♪ He seen a lot of women ♪

♪ But she never escaped my mind and he just grew ♪

♪ Tangled up in blue ♪

♪ She was working in a topless place ♪

♪ And I stopped in for a beer ♪

♪ I just kept looking at the sight 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 right beside my chair ♪

♪ Said don't tell me let me guess 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 ♪

♪ 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 it all came crashing down ♪

♪ 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 back again ♪

♪ I got to get her somehow ♪

♪ All the faces we used to know ♪

♪ They're an illusion to me now ♪

♪ Some are mathematicians ♪

♪ Some are truck driver's wives ♪

♪ Don't know how it all got started ♪

♪ I don't what they do with their lives ♪

♪ But me I'm still on the road ♪

♪ Heading 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" continues)

("Tangled Up In Blue" continues)

("Tangled Up In Blue" continues)

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
shining /ˈʃaɪnɪŋ/ B2	adjective - giving off light; bright verb (present participle) - to be bright or shiny
changed /tʃeɪndʒd/ B1	verb (past tense) - to become different
folks /foʊks/ A2	noun - people; family members
married /ˈmɛrɪd/ A2	adjective - having a spouse
divorced /dɪˈvɔːrst/ B1	adjective - legally separated from a spouse
jam /dʒæm/ A2	noun - a difficult or tight situation
forced /fɔːrst/ B2	adjective / verb (past tense) - made to do something against their will
abandoned /əˈbændənd/ B2	adjective / verb (past participle) - left behind; deserted
split /splɪt/ B1	verb - to divide into parts
turned /tɜrnd/ A2	verb (past tense) - to change direction or position
walking /ˈwɔːkɪŋ/ A2	verb (present participle) - to move at a regular pace on foot
drifted /drɪftɪd/ B2	verb (past tense) - moved slowly or gradually
destroyed /dɪsˈtrɔɪd/ B2	adjective / verb (past participle) - completely ruined or demolished

Key Grammar Structures

• Wondering if she'd changed at all

  ➔ Conditional Clause (Indirect Question) with Contraction

  ➔ The line uses an indirect question within a conditional context. "If" introduces the condition. "She'd" is a contraction of "she had" or "she would". The complete indirect question is "if she had changed at all".

• They never did like mama's homemade dress

  ➔ Past Simple with Emphasis + Possessive ('s) + Compound Adjective

  ➔ "Did like" is used for emphasis in the negative. "Mama's" shows possession. "Homemade" is a compound adjective describing the dress.

• Lord knows I've paid some dues getting through

  ➔ Exclamatory Phrase + Present Perfect + Gerund

  ➔ "Lord knows" is an exclamatory phrase. "I've paid" is present perfect tense. "Getting through" uses the gerund after the preposition.

• She was married when they first met

  ➔ Past Simple + Passive Voice (Past)

  ➔ "She was married" is in the passive voice in the past simple tense, indicating the state of being married at that point in time. The phrase "when they first met" is an adverbial clause of time.

• Lucky not to be destroyed

  ➔ Adjective + Infinitive of Purpose (Negative)

  ➔ "Lucky" is an adjective. "Not to be destroyed" is an infinitive phrase expressing purpose in a negative sense. It explains why he was lucky.

• The past was close behind

  ➔ Past Simple (Descriptive)

  ➔ This sentence uses the past simple tense to describe a state or condition in the past.

• Don't tell me let me guess your name

  ➔ Imperative sentences + bare infinitive

  ➔ The sentences 'Don't tell me' and 'let me guess your name' are imperative sentences. The verb 'let' is followed by the object 'me' and the bare infinitive 'guess'.