Monday Music: Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power)

Senor (Tales of Yankee Power) first appeared on the 1979 album Street Legal. Here is powerful version by Willie Nelson and Calexa from the soundtrack for the movie, I'm Not There. The song is full of symbolism that might take a classroom to unpack. It opens with the question, "do you know where we’re headin’? Lincoln County Road or Armageddon?" which is likely a reference to the Lincoln County War. For a fuller discussion of the symbolism of the song, check out Christopher Rollason's Bob Dylan's "Señor": a wasteland with no easy answers.

Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power)

By Bob Dylan

 Señor, señor, do you know where we’re headin’?

 Lincoln County Road or Armageddon?

 Seems like I been down this way before

 Is there any truth in that, señor?

 Señor, señor, do you know where she is hidin’?

 How long are we gonna be ridin’?

 How long must I keep my eyes glued to the door?

 Will there be any comfort there, señor?

 There’s a wicked wind still blowin’ on that upper deck

 There’s an iron cross still hangin' down from around her neck

 There’s a marchin’ band still playin’ in that vacant lot

 Where she held me in her arms one time and said, “Forget me not”

 Señor, señor, I can see that painted wagon

 I can smell the tail of the dragon

 Can’t stand the suspense anymore

 Can you tell me who to contact here, señor?

 Well, the last thing I remember before I stripped and kneeled

 Was that trainload of fools bogged down in a magnetic field

 A gypsy with a broken flag and a flashing ring

 Said, “Son, this ain’t a dream no more, it’s the real thing”

 Señor, señor, you know their hearts is as hard as leather

 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

 Señor, señor, let’s disconnect these cables

 Overturn these tables

 This place don’t make sense to me no more

 Can you tell me what we’re waiting for, señor?

Copyright © 1978 by Special Rider Music