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Tangled Up In Blue- Bob Dylan

    Tangled Up In Blue is a lyrically daring song that tells it’s story in first and third person and mixes past, present and future together. It ranked it #68 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

    Strumming

    You can almost use just straight eight strumming patterns. I said “almost”, because to really liven up the part you’ll want to throw in occasional sixteenth notes as accents.

    The G/A chord is a G chord that uses an A note as its lowest note. To form the chord is super easy as we’ll only need to fret the 3rd fret of the high E string then strum all other strings, except the low E string, open. Don’t play the low E as it will change the sound of the chord drastically.

    Verse 1

    A                     G/A 
    Early one mornin' the sun was shinin',
    A               G/A 
    I was layin' in bed
    A                  G/A 
    Wond'rin' if she'd changed at all
           D               
    If her hair was still red.
    A                       G/A 
    Her folks they said our lives together
    A                 G/A 
    Sure was gonna be rough
    A                          G/A 
    They never did like Mama's homemade dress
           D 
    Papa's bankbook wasn't big enough.
    
    E                              F#m 
    And I was standin' on the side of the road
    A                  D 
    Rain fallin' on my shoes
    E                   F#m 
    Heading out for the East Coast
         A                    D            E 
    Lord knows I've paid some dues gettin' through,
    G       D     A   G/A  A  G/A
    Tangled up in blue.
    

    Verse 2

    A                     G/A 
    She was married when we first met
    A                     G/A 
    Soon to be divorced
    A                     G/A 
    I helped her out of a jam, I guess,
          D
    But I used a little too much force.
    A                     G/A 
    We drove that car as far as we could
    A                     G/A 
    Abandoned it out West
    A                     G/A 
    Split up on a dark sad night
            D
    Both agreeing it was best.
    
    E                              F#m 
    She turned around to look at me
    A                  D 
    As I was walkin' away
    E                              F#m 
    I heard her say over my shoulder,
         A                    D            E 
    "We'll meet again someday on the avenue,"
    G       D     A    G/A  A  G/A
    Tangled up in blue.

    Verse 3

    A                     G/A 
    I had a job in the great north woods
    A                     G/A 
    Working as a cook for a spell
    A                     G/A 
    But I never did like it all that much
          D
    And one day the axe just fell.
    A                     G/A 
    So I drifted down to New Orleans
    A                     G/A 
    Where I happened to be employed
    A                     G/A 
    Workin' for a while on a fishin' boat
          D
    Right outside of Delacroix.
    
    E                              F#m 
    But all the while I was alone
    A                  D 
    The past was close behind,
    E                              F#m 
    I seen a lot of women
         A                    D            E 
    But she never escaped my mind, and I just grew
    G       D     A    G/A  A  G/A
    Tangled up in blue.

    Verse 4

    A                     G/A 
    She was workin' in a topless place
    A                     G/A 
    And I stopped in for a beer,
    A                     G/A 
    I just kept lookin' at the side of her face
          D
    In the spotlight so clear.
    A                     G/A 
    And later on as the crowd thinned out
    A                     G/A 
    I's just about to do the same,
    A                     G/A 
    She was standing there in back of my chair
          D
    Said to me, "Don't I know your name?"
    
    E                              F#m 
    I muttered somethin' underneath my breath,
    A                  D 
    She studied the lines on my face.
    Em                              F#m 
    I must admit I felt a little uneasy
         A                    D            Em 
    When she bent down to tie the laces of my shoe,
    G       D     A    G/A  A  G/A
    Tangled up in blue.

    Verse 5

    A                       G/A 
    She lit a burner on the stove and offered me a pipe
    A                G/A    
    "I thought you'd never 
     A                 G/A
    say hello," she said
                    D
    "You look like the silent type."
     A                       G/A 
    Then she opened up a book of poems
    A                     G/A 
    And handed it to me
    A                     G/A 
    Written by an Italian poet
         D 
    From the thirteenth century.
           
    E                              F#m 
    And every one of them words rang true
    A                  D 
    And glowed like burnin' coal
    E                              F#m 
    Pourin' off of every page
         A                    D            E 
    Like it was written in my soul from me to you,
    G       D     A    Asus  A  Asus
    Tangled up in blue.

    Verse 6

    A                     G/A 
    I lived with them on Montague Street
    A                     G/A 
    In a basement down the stairs,
    A                     G/A
    There was music in the cafes at night
          D
    And revolution in the air.
    A                     G/A 
    Then he started into dealing with slaves
    A                     G/A 
    And something inside of him died.
    A                     G/A 
    She had to sell everything she owned
          D
    And froze up inside.
    
    E                              F#m 
    And when finally the bottom fell out
    A                  D 
    I became withdrawn,
    Em                              F#m 
    The only thing I knew how to do
         A                    D            E 
    Was to keep on keepin' on like a bird that flew,
    G       D     A    Asus  A  Asus
    Tangled up in blue.

    Verse 7

    A                     G/A 
    So now I'm goin' back again,
    A                     G/A 
    I got to get to her somehow.
    A                     G/A 
    All the people we used to know
          D
    They're an illusion to me now.
    A                     G/A 
    Some are mathematicians
    A                     G/A 
    Some are carpenter's wives.
    A                     G/A 
    Don't know how it all got started,
          D
    I don't know what they're doin' with their lives.
    
    E                              F#m 
    But me, I'm still on the road
    A                  D 
    Headin' for another joint
    E                            F#m 
    We always did feel the same,
         A                    D            E 
    We just saw it from a different point of view,
    G       D     A    Asus  A  Asus
    Tangled up in blue.