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.
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.