Peak
31
Weeks
7
Score
791
Chart Year
1975
This is a very personal song for Dylan. In an oblique narrative, it deals with the changes he was going through, including his marriage falling apart. A predominant theme is trying to escape the past. Dylan wrote this in the summer of 1974 at a farm he had just bought in Minnesota. He had been touring with The Band earlier that year. Blood On The Tracks was Dylan's first album under his new contract with Columbia Records. He left the label a year earlier to record for David Geffen's label, Asylum Records. This was influenced by the art classes Dylan was taking with Norman Raeben, a popular teacher in New York. Dylan credits Raeben for making him look at things from a nonlinear perspective, which was reflected in his songs. Dylan sometimes introduced this on stage by saying it took "Ten years to live and two years to write." First recorded in New York with producer Phil Ramone, Dylan delayed the release and re-recorded it in Minnesota while visiting his brother, David, for the holidays. David organized the sessions and helped produce the version that went on the album. At the Minnesota sessions, the key was changed from G to A at the suggestion of Kevin Odegard, a local singer and guitarist who was brought in to play with Dylan. Odegard told Artful Living about his contribution to "Tangled Up in Blue." "The second night, December 30," Odegard said, "we started with 'Tangled Up In Blue.' It was an OK song in G. After we recorded it, we sat there for a minute. Bob lit a cigarette, turned to me and asked, 'What'd you think?' I could tell he felt like something was missing. By this time, I was comfortable, just like the guys on the steps of the armory. So I turned to him and said, 'It's passable.' He said, 'Passable? What do you mean passable?' And I said, 'Well, I think it would great if we all pitched up a key, from G to A. I think it would have more power, more urgency, more tension.' He looked down for a minute, and my heart kind of stopped. Finally he said, 'Let's try it.'" From there, the rest is history. Odegard was not credited on Blood On The Tracks, but he credits the experience with launching his successful career in music. Among the musicians who recorded this in Minnesota were Billy Peterson, who became the bass player for Steve Miller, and Bill Berg, who became an animator for Disney. Some of the films Berg has worked on include Beauty And The Beast, The Little Mermaid, and Hercules. Dylan's brother, David, came up with the idea for the hi-hat cymbals at the beginning. The 1994 Hootie & the Blowfish song "Only Wanna Be With You" mentions this song in the lines: Yeah I'm tangled up and blue I only wanna be with you The song is a tribute to Dylan, but borrowed a bit too liberally from his work, incorporating some lines from "Idiot Wind" as well. Dylan took legal action and received a settlement. Dylan and his first wife, Sara Lowndes, divorced in 1977. As part of the settlement, she got half the royalties from the songs Dylan wrote while they were married, including this one. The session musicians in Minnesota were not credited on the album because the packaging had already been printed. Regarding the lyrics, "I lived with them on Montague Street, In a basement down the stairs," Montague Street is in a nice area in Brooklyn, where there was a music venue called Capulet's, where Dylan would sometimes hang out. Montague is also Romeo's last name in Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet. When Dylan performs this song in concert he uses the third person perspective (He and She) that is on the version found on The Bootleg Series Vol 1-3 album instead of the first person perspective that is on Blood On The Tracks. He also alters some of the lyrics, for instance: "One day the axe just fell" is changed to "One day it all went to hell." The book Simple Twist Of Fate by Andy Gill and Kevin Odegard, documents the recording of Blood On The Tracks (in particular the genesis of this song). It explains how two different sets of musicians were used in New York and Minnesota but the Minnesota musicians not only did not receive credit, but also have never received royalties. Obviously, they are not happy about this since the album has sold millions of copies. >> Dylan mentions the titles of two Beatles songs in the lyrics: "Pouring off of every page like it was written in my soul, From Me to You," and "There was music in the cafes at night and Revolution in the air." Dylan and The Beatles shared a great deal of mutual admiration. >> Dylan on Blood on the Tracks: "A lot of people tell me they enjoy that album. It's hard for me to relate to that. I mean, it, you know, people enjoying the type of pain, you know?" Polyphonic observes that the music is made to mirror the lyrical content. "The nature of these lyrics are reflected in the rolling chord progression that drives the song. Behind the first half of the verse, we have two chords repeating, the second of which retains the root of the first. In this way the music is symbolizing the play with time, too. Just as the past is even there when we're looking into the present, so is the root of the first chord when we're playing the second. At the end of the verse, when we find ourselves in a more certain present day with a determined course, the music shifts into a more definitive chord progression."
Early one mornin' the sun was shinin' She was layin' in bed Wondrin' if she'd changed at all If her hair was still red Her folks they set their lives together Sure was gonna be rough They never did like Mama's homemade dress Papa's bank book wasn't big enough And he 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 they first met Soon to be divorced He helped her out of a jam I guess But he used a little too much force And he drove that car as far as they could Abandoned it out west Splitting up on a dark sad night Both agreeing it was best She turned around to look at him As he was walkin' away Saying over his shoulder We'll meet again some day On the avenue Tangled up in blue We had a job in Santa Fe Working in an old hotel But he never did like it all that much And one day the axe just fell So he drifted down to New Orleans Lucky not to be destroyed We got him a job on a fishin' boat Docked 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 his mind And he 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 was just about to do the same She was standing there in back of my chair Said, don't tell me let me guess your name? I muttered somethin' under 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 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 it all came pressing down 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 them somehow All the faces 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'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
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mar 8, 1975 | 74 | 52 |
| 2 | Mar 15, 1975 | 57 | 69 |
| 3 | Mar 22, 1975 | 47 | 79 |
| 4 | Mar 29, 1975 | 39 | 87 |
| 5 | Apr 5, 1975 | 31 | 95 |
| 6 | Apr 12, 1975 | 31 | 95 |
| 7 | Apr 19, 1975 | 62 | 64 |