| Disc 1 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |
| 5:41 | 
|
|||
|
Early one morning, the sun was shining
I was laying in bed Wondering if she'd changed it 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 standing on the side of the road Rain falling on my shoes Heading out for the east coast Lord knows I've paid some dues getting 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 walking 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 axe just fell So I drifted down to New Orleans Where I's lucky for to be employed Working 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 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's just about to do the same She was standing there in back of my chair Said, "Tell 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 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 burning coal Pouring 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of him died She had to sell everything she owned And froze up inside And when finally the bottom fell out I became withdrawn The only thing I knew how to do Was to keep on keeping on like a bird that flew Tangled up in blue So now I'm going back again I got to get her somehow All the 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 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 |
||||||
| 2. |
| 4:18 |
|
|||
|
They sat together in the park
As the evening sky grew dark. She looked at him and he felt a spark Tingle to his bones. 'Twas then he felt alone And wished that he'd gone straight And watched out for a simple twist of fate. They walked alone by the old canal. A little confused, I remember well, And stopped into a strange hotel with a neon burning bright. He felt the heat of the night hit him like a freight train Moving with a simple twist of fate. A saxophone someplace far off played As she was walking on by the arcade As the light bust through a beat up shade Where he was waking up. She dropped a coin into the cup of a blind man at the gate And forgot about a simple twist of fate. He woke up; the room was bare. He didn't see her anywhere. He told himself he didn't care; pushed the window open wide; Felt an emptiness inside to which he just could not relate Brought on by a simple twist of fate. He hears the ticking of the clocks And walks along with a parrot that talks. Hunts her down by the waterfront docks Where the sailors all come in. Maybe she'll pick him out again. How long must he wait One more time for a simple twist of fate. People tell me it's a sin To know and feel too much within. I still believe she was my twin, but I lost the ring. She was born in spring, but I was born too late. Blame it on a simple twist of fate. |
||||||
| 3. |
| 4:35 |
|
|||
|
Our conversation was short and sweet
It nearly swept me off my feet And I'm back in the rain Oh, and you are on dry land You made it there somehow You're a big girl now Bird on the horizon, sitting on a fence He's singing his song for me at his own expense And I'm just like that bird Oh, singing just for you I hope that you can hear Hear me singing through these tears Love is so simple, to quote a phrase You've known it all the time, I'm learning it these days And I know where I can find you Oh, in somebody's room It's a price I have to pay You're a big girl all the way Time is a jet plane, it moves too fast Oh but what a shame, that all we've shared can't last I can change I swear Oh, see what you can do I can make it through You can make it too A change in the weather is known to be extreme But it ain't like changing horses in midstream I'm going out of my mind Oh, with a pain that stops and starts Like a corkscrew to the heart Ever since we've been apart |
||||||
| 4. |
| 7:47 |
|
|||
|
Someone's got it in for me, they're planting stories in the press
Whoever it is I wish they'd cut it out quick but when they will I can only guess. They say I shot a man named Gray and took his wife to Italy, She inherited a million bucks and when she died it came to me. I can't help it if I'm lucky. People see me all the time and they just can't remember how to act Their minds are filled with big ideas, images and distorted facts. Even you, yesterday you had to ask me where it was at, I couldn't believe after all these years, you didn't know me better than that Sweet lady. Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your mouth, Blowing down the backroads headin' south. Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your teeth, You're an idiot, babe. It's a wonder that you still know how to breathe. I ran into the fortune-teller, who said beware of lightning that might strike I haven't known peace and quiet for so long I can't remember what it's like. There's a lone soldier on the cross, smoke pourin' out of my boxcar door, You didn't know it, you didn't think it could be done, in the final end he won the war After losin' every battle. I woke up on the roadside, daydreamin' 'bout the way things sometimes are Visions of your chestnut mare shoot through my head and are makin' me see stars. You hurt the ones that I love best and cover up the truth with lies. One day you'll be in the ditch, flies buzzin' around your eyes, Blood on your saddle. Idiot wind, blowing through the flowers on your tomb, Blowing through the curtains in your room. Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your teeth, You're an idiot, babe. It's a wonder that you still know how to breathe. It was gravity which pulled us down and destiny which broke us apart You tamed the lion in my cage but it just wasn't enough to change my heart. Now everything's a little upside down, as a matter of fact the wheels have stopped, What's good is bad, what's bad is good, you'll find out when you reach the top You're on the bottom. I noticed at the ceremony, your corrupt ways had finally made you blind I can't remember your face anymore, your mouth has changed, your eyes don't look into mine. The priest wore black on the seventh day and sat stone-faced while the building burned. I waited for you on the running boards, near the cypress trees, while the springtime turned Slowly into autumn. Idiot wind, blowing like a circle around my skull, From the Grand Coulee Dam to the Capitol. Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your teeth, You're an idiot, babe. It's a wonder that you still know how to breathe. I can't feel you anymore, I can't even touch the books you've read Every time I crawl past your door, I been wishin' I been somebody else instead. Down the highway, down the tracks, down the road to ecstasy, I followed you beneath the stars, hounded by your memory And all your ragin' glory. I been double-crossed now for the very last time and now I'm finally free, I kissed goodbye the howling beast on the borderline which separated you from me. You'll never know the hurt I suffered nor the pain I rise above, And I'll never know the same about you, your holiness or your kind of love, And it makes me feel so sorry. Idiot wind, blowing through the buttons of our coats, Blowing through the letters that we wrote. Idiot wind, blowing through the dust upon our shelves, We're idiots, babe. It's a wonder we can even feed ourselves. |
||||||
| 5. |
| 2:55 | 
|
|||
| 6. |
| 4:21 |
|
|||
|
Meet me in the morning, 56th and Wabasha
Meet me in the morning, 56th and Wabasha Honey, we could be in Kansas By time the snow begins to thaw. They say the darkest hour is right before the dawn They say the darkest hour is right before the dawn Honey you wouldn't know it by me Every day's been darkness since you been gone. Little rooster crowin', there must be something on his mind Little rooster crowin', there must be something on his mind Well, I feel just like that rooster Honey, ya treat me so unkind. Well, I struggled through barbed wire, felt the hail fall from above Well, I struggled through barbed wire, felt the hail fall from above Well, you know I even outrun the hound dogs Honey, you know I've earned your love. Look at the sun sinkin' like a ship Look at the sun sinkin' like a ship Ain't that just like my heart, babe When you kissed my lips? |
||||||
| 7. |
| 8:52 |
|
|||
|
The festival was over, the boys were all plannin' for a fall,
The cabaret was quiet except for the drillin' in the wall. The curfew had been lifted and the gamblin' wheel shut down, Anyone who had any sense had already left town. He was standin' in the doorway lookin' like the Jack of Hearts. He moved across the mirrored room, "Set it up for everyone," he said, Then everyone commenced to do what they were doin' before he turned their heads. Then he walked up to a stranger and he asked him with a grin, "Could you kindly tell me, friend, what time the show begins?" Then he moved into the corner, face down like the Jack of Hearts. Backstage the girls were playin' five-card stud by the stairs, Lily had two queens, she was hopin' for a third to match her pair. Outside the streets were fillin' up, the window was open wide, A gentle breeze was blowin', you could feel it from inside. Lily called another bet and drew up the Jack of Hearts. Big Jim was no one's fool, he owned the town's only diamond mine, He made his usual entrance lookin' so dandy and so fine. With his bodyguards and silver cane and every hair in place, He took whatever he wanted to and he laid it all to waste. But his bodyguards and silver cane were no match for the Jack of Hearts. Rosemary combed her hair and took a carriage into town, She slipped in through the side door lookin' like a queen without a crown. She fluttered her false eyelashes and whispered in his ear, "Sorry, darlin', that I'm late," but he didn't seem to hear. He was starin' into space over at the Jack of Hearts. "I know I've seen that face somewhere," Big Jim was thinkin' to himself, "Maybe down in Mexico or a picture up on somebody's shelf." But then the crowd began to stamp their feet and the house lights did dim And in the darkness of the room there was only Jim and him, Starin' at the butterfly who just drew the Jack of Hearts. Lily was a princess, she was fair-skinned and precious as a child, She did whatever she had to do, she had that certain flash every time she smiled. She had come away from a broken home, had lots of strange affairs With men in every walk of life which took her everywhere. But she'd never met anyone quite like the Jack of Hearts. The hangin' judge came in unnoticed and was being wined and dined, The drillin' in the wall kept up but no one seemed to pay it any mind. It was known all around that Lily had Jim's ring And nothing would ever come between Lily and the king. No, nothin' ever would except maybe the Jack of Hearts. Rosemary started drinkin' hard and seein' her reflection in the knife, She was tired of the attention, tired of playin' the role of Big Jim's wife. She had done a lot of bad things, even once tried suicide, Was lookin' to do just one good deed before she died. She was gazin' to the future, riding on the Jack of Hearts. Lily took her dress off and buried it away. "Has your luck run out?" she laughed at him, "Well, I guess you must have known it would someday. Be careful not to touch the wall, there's a brand-new coat of paint, I'm glad to see you're still alive, you're lookin' like a saint." Down the hallway footsteps were comin' for the Jack of Hearts. The backstage manager was pacing all around by his chair. "There's something funny going on," he said, "I can just feel it in the air." He went to get the hangin' judge, but the hangin' judge was drunk, As the leading actor hurried by in the costume of a monk. There was no actor anywhere better than the Jack of Hearts. No one knew the circumstance but they say that it happened pretty quick, The door to the dressing room burst open and a Colt revolver clicked. And Big Jim was standin' there, ya couldn't say surprised, Rosemary right beside him, steady in her eyes. She was with Big Jim but she was leanin' to the Jack of Hearts. Two doors down the boys finally made it through the wall And cleaned out the bank safe, it's said they got off with quite a haul. In the darkness by the riverbed they waited on the ground For one more member who had business back in town. But they couldn't go no further without the Jack of Hearts. The next day was hangin' day, the sky was overcast and black, Big Jim lay covered up, killed by a penknife in the back. And Rosemary on the gallows, she didn't even blink, The hangin' judge was sober, he hadn't had a drink. The only person on the scene missin' was the Jack of Hearts. The cabaret was empty now, a sign said, "Closed for repair," Lily had already taken all of the dye out of her hair. She was thinkin' 'bout her father, who she very rarely saw, Thinkin' 'bout Rosemary and thinkin' about the law. But, most of all she was thinkin' 'bout the Jack of Hearts. |
||||||
| 8. |
| 4:48 |
|
|||
|
If you see her, say hello, she might be in Tangier
She left here last early spring, is livin' there, I hear Say for me that I'm all right though things get kind of slow She might think that I've forgotten her, don't tell her it isn't so. We had a falling-out, like lovers often will And to think of how she left that night, it still brings me a chill And though our separation, it pierced me to the heart She still lives inside of me, we've never been apart. If you get close to her, kiss her once for me I always have respected her for doing what she did and gettin' free Oh, whatever makes her happy, I won't stand in the way Though the bitter taste still lingers on from the night I tried to make her stay. I see a lot of people as I make the rounds And I hear her name here and there as I go from town to town And I've never gotten used to it, I've just learned to turn it off Either I'm too sensitive or else I'm gettin' soft. Sundown, yellow moon, I replay the past I know every scene by heart, they all went by so fast If she's passin' back this way, I'm not that hard to find Tell her she can look me up if she's got the time. |
||||||
| 9. |
| 5:01 |
|
|||
|
'Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood
When blackness was a virtue the road was full of mud I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form "Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm" And if I pass this way again, you can rest assured I'll always do my best for her, on that I give my word In a world of steel-eyed death, and men who are fighting to be warm. "Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm" Not a word was spoke between us, there was little risk involved Everything up to that point had been left unresolved Try imagining a place where it's always safe and warm "Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm" I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail Poisoned in the bushes an' blown out on the trail Hunted like a crocodile, ravaged in the corn "Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm" Suddenly I turned around and she was standin' there With silver bracelets on her wrists and flowers in her hair She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns "Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm" Now there's a wall between us, somethin' there's been lost I took too much for granted, I got my signals crossed Just to think that it all began on an noneventful morn "Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm" Well, the deputy walks on hard nails and the preacher rides a mount But nothing really matters much, it's doom alone that counts And the one-eyed undertaker, he blows a futile horn "Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm" I've heard newborn babies wailin' like a mournin' dove And old men with broken teeth stranded without love Do I understand your question, man, is it hopeless and forlorn? "Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm" In a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes I bargained for salvation an' she gave me a lethal dose I offered up my innocence and got repaid with scorn "Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm" Well, I'm livin' in a foreign country but I'm bound to cross the line Beauty walks a razor's edge, someday I'll make it mine If I could only turn back the clock to when God and her were born "Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm" |
||||||
| 10. |
| 3:22 |
|
|||
|
Buckets of rain
Buckets of tears Got all them buckets comin' out of my ears. Buckets of moonbeams in my hand, You got all the love, honey baby, I can stand. I been meek And hard like an oak I seen pretty people disappear like smoke. Friends will arrive, friends will disappear, If you want me, honey baby, I'll be here. I like your smile And your fingertips I like the way that you move your hips. I like the cool way you look at me, Everything about you is bringing me Misery. Little red wagon Little red bike I ain't no monkey but I know what I like. I like the way you love me strong and slow, I'm takin' you with me, honey baby, When I go. Life is sad Life is a bust All ya can do is do what you must. You do what you must do and ya do it well, I do it for you, honey baby, Can't you tell? |
||||||
|
