Once a month I'm going to post one of Bob Dylan's lesser known tracks that I think are overlooked. And many of his tracks have been. And today being the first of the month, I figure today is as good as any.
And don't get your panties in a bunch if you know the tracks I post. I don't want some shit from a Dylan fanboy saying, "Austin, 'If Not For You' isn't an obscure track, I think that New Morning was one of Dylan's strongest albums." If you're one of those people, then good for you. You know Dylan inside and out, and this post isn't for you.
Now, onto the real post.
Today's track comes from 1978's Street Legal, an album that found Bob in a transition. He was still coming down from the critical high point of 1975's Blood on the Tracks, but he was still two years away from his 1980 venture into Christian music. The songwriting on the album is not the strongest, but the whole album comes off listenable, if a little less accessible than some of his earlier works. But the sixth track, "Senor (Tales of Yankee Power)" is a gem that shines above the rest.
The lyrics detail a story of longing set against the backdrop of the Lincoln County War in 1881. It was during this conflict that Billy the Kid (a figure who Dylan was obsessed with) first gained notoriety. The instrumentation is fitting for the setting of the song (New Mexico), with lonely mariachi-style horns playing against Dylan's acoustic guitar.
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