Released on this day in 1975, Blood on the Tracks is one of the very best albums ever. In fact it is the album that is always on my turntable. Just waiting for a spin. A perfect album. Lyrics and melody. Melody and lyrics. Most think it’s his best album. It’s the one that every Dylan album that has come after it is compared to. I know that it’s surely one of my favorites (I’ve always loved Planet Waves as much).
Inspired to write about his broken marriage, each song tells a part of a great love story. With songs about love and tragedy, relationships found and lost, Dylan sings soulfully and honestly. “These are songs of ‘images and distorted facts,’ each expressed through tangled points of view, and all of them blue.” The opening song, Tangled Up In Blue, is perhaps best of all.
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.
Sources:
Tangled Up In Blue lyrics: music and lyrics by Bob Dylan, Sony/ATV Music Publishing 1974
Quote: David Cantwell
Yvette Perry's Blog 
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