Senor (Tales of Yankee Power)

A beautiful, multi-layered song.

I always thought that this was partly inspired by the story of Don Quijote, as seen from the perspective of his servant Sancho Panza; the poor man following the rich man, doing what he's told although he never learns exactly why and doesn't understand that his master is, in fact, mad.

Then, of course, there's the fact that "Señor" means not only "Sir" but also "Lord" (as in "God") in Spanish.

And there's the alternate title: "Tales of Yankee power". Where is America going, "Lincoln County Road" - the road to freedom - or Armageddon?

And the drug reference. And the mysterious, nameless "she".

Bottom line? I think the song is about the dangers of becoming so focused on something, following something so blindly that you lose all ability to decide for yourself. Whether that something is a politician, religion, love or drugs. (And yes, I know that doesn't rhyme very well with the fact that Dylan himself became a crusader for Christ shortly after recording this.) But at the end of the song, the narrator is none the wiser; he's still asking his "Señor" questions - where are we going, what are we waiting for, when is it going to happen, what the hell is the point of all this - that are never going to be answered. He's a slave to his own need to have his questions answered, but we see no sign that they ever will be. And so he remains.

I always thought this song was about death. "Senor" being a physical embodiment of death. The singer may have escaped death at another time hence "seems I've been down this way before" but lost his love and is hoping to see her in the afterlife now, If only he is heading to the same place (heaven/hell) as her. hence: "can you tell me where we're headin ?.....Will there be any comfort there Señor?". This is where the humility comes into play (which I believe is what makes this song so powerful, the singers humility and submission)

as the song progresses the singer becomes anxious for answers about his fate, hence: "Can't stand the suspense anymore Can you tell me who to contact here, Señor?"

by the second to last verse the singer accepts that he is heading to hell and is ready to be judged, hence: "Well, give me a minute, let me get it together I just gotta pick myself up off the floor I'm ready when you are, Señor."

and in the last verse the singer grows impatient wondering when he will be dealt his punishment: "This place don’t make sense to me no more Can you tell me what we’re waiting for, Señor?" not realizing that THIS is his hell.

Well at least that's how I interpret it and iI am going to stick with my version. Lol

Like many Dylan songs from this era, I believe that the political and geographical content just serves as a backdrop to tell the story, which consists of basic human emotions and situations. Many people mistake Dylan's songs as political when in actuality , time and time again, he is trying to prove that all the political nonsense is meaningless in the shadow of the most important basic human experiences.

This is a great song! It never ceases to amaze me what song I will find of Bobby D next. An avid listener to him. I still seem to come across gems!

Can you tell me who to contact here, Senor?

Great song. I can sense Bobs deep desperation. Every line in this songs points toward his search for the truth, for answers, for comfort, ultimately for salvation.

This song would most likely be his state of mind just before his conversion to Christianity, That is the answer he was searching for. And Jesus Christ was the one he should contact to bring him to the truth and show the way out.

I think the song is told from the perspective of a veteran after a war. Probably something conscript like Vietnam. Lots of veterans returned to the US finding it difficult to adjust back to normal life, became homeless, fell into drugs etc.

He's having flash backs of his life before... with 'her', trying to pickup where he left off. Can you tell me who to contact here, senor? But no answers.

But he also felt like he had a purpose. They went to war. What happened? Where are we heading, lincon county road or Armageddon?

The final line I think he's in hospital and wants out. Let's overturn these tables, disconnect these cables. Senor is probably a doctor. Whole song could be his trip on drugs, with little moments of memories and questions, lost in the confusion of it all.

No-one has commented on this song? Has to be my favourite song of all time, no other like it.

To me it's about a guy who, through unfortunate circumstances and an addiction he has lost everything he once had and can no longer really see the point of life.

The first 2 verses are just a guy who sees everything as the same, he no longer sees any new joy in life and he knows it will be almost impossible to find his love again, who he still has fond memories of (verse 3). The fourth verse is about him falling prey to his addiction again and the 5th about his 1st experiance that led to it. The 6th is soon after with him recovering from his latest "hit" and commenting on how dealers must have hard hearts to allow people to ruin their life as he has done. The final verse (expressed beautifully with the desperation in his voice but typed wrong here, its overturn tables, disconnect cables) is him having lost any will to live and noy knowing what the point of life is anymore.

Fav song ever...love it. So much desperation. Gotta love that Bob.

I think it is about opium or heroin addiction. Dragon is slang for one of those.

My two bits: This song represents the desperation Dylan felt in his life as he fully came to understand the darkness and futility of the world. Dylan sees those blindly following their own desires and accepting the world's false value system as a "trainload of fools". All of Dylan's foundations have crumbled and he is left with nothing but to "strip and kneel". Dylan had not accepted Christ when he wrote this song, but it is evident he can "smell the tail of the dragon" and realizes that he must "overturn these tables" and "disconnect these cables" by accepting salvation. This is clearly a song about a man about to make a decision that will result in a major change in his life.

...Interesting that Dylan now frequently follows "Senor" in his concerts with the testimonial song "God Knows".

I feel like there is a two sided story going on here. He wrote this in 1970 which could correlate with the world at the time or his life. If you know what he was going through in his life during this time, you'd know he just lost his girl. 1st verse - he is questioning god whether to live or die. 2nd - He has been waiting for her, is she coming back. 3rd - wind blowing/upper deck = can't move up/on, cross = faith she'll come back, he still remembers her. 4th - he senses the end. 5th - its a stretch so leave it to your imaginations fellas. 6th - he wants to be like the other guys and stay strong 7th - he overturns the table not cable so he changes around his life and emotionally disconnects from the woman.

The second side of the story is basically patriotism, it says it in the title. Its simple and effective. American is currently going through the cold war and this is right after the Vietnam war. Keep in mind this is when everyone was paranoid/red scare and all those uncertainties. The song is not 1970 but 1978 sorry for the typo earlier. I really liked the Lincoln Bridge symbolizing freedom. Props to beer good. 1st verse - America going to fight for freedom or get destroyed. 2nd verse - she = justice, waiting and eye on door = everyone scared there might be a war/paranoia 3rd - tribute to Vietnam veterans 4th - wagon mobilizing, dragon = smell that the war might start soon, where do i enlist. 5th - last time/stripped kneeled = enlisted for vietnam, magnetic field = soliders forced to fight, gypsy = government, broken flag - no reason. 6th - america is ready to stand again even though they just got back up from vietnam. 6th - Overturn = find the truth, disconnect = break the tension/call for peace OR stop holding back and attack. Bob Dylan is making fun of and criticizing the government about going to Vietnam and saying how we didn't learn our lesson while still showing American patriotism. Honestly this could be looked at in many different ways but I am just biased about the war but this song is fricken awesome and I just heard it the first time today.