Coyote Shivers played guitar in the instrumental rock band Sharkskin (eventually releasing three EPs, and the "Greatest Hits" CD compilation) before moving to Los Angeles with famed record producer Daniel Lanois (U2, Bob Dylan, etc.), who later would produce Coyote's Sugarhigh for the Empire Records Soundtrack.
He then packed up and moved to Amsterdam, where he bought a boat and lived in the canals until fate brought our hero to New York City to play guitar for TheDave Rave Conspiracy, who went down in rock history as the first non-soviet band signed to the soviet state-run record label Melodiya, just after the fall of the Berlin wall.
Soon after TheDave Rave Conspiracy split, Coyote appeared in the film Johnny Mnemonic (1995) with Keanu Reeves, Ice-T, and Henry Rollins, and then went on to star in Empire Records (1995) with Renée Zellweger, Liv Tyler and Ethan Embry. (You can also see Coyote in a cameo appearance in Smut (1999)).
Returning to New York City, he enlisted Billy Ficca on drums (Richard Hell and the Voidoids and The Neon Boys' drummer, not to mention a member of the seminal New York band Television). Jack Pedler eventually took over on drums, and along with Dagon Spector on bass, Coyote released his first solo album (the self titled Coyote Shivers), critically acclaimed by a diverse spectrum of media, ranging from Billboard Magazine to Screw Magazine, and from Sassy to High Times.
Deborah Harry's bass player, Greta Brinkman, eventually took over on bass guitar, until Coyote formed another lineup featuring Chad Stewart (Faster Pussycat) on drums, and Casper on bass. Greta went on to then play bass for Moby.
After a stint as the opening act on the Kiss re-union tour, Coyote began writing songs for his forthcoming second album, releasing limited edition CD singles and the 5-song CD 1/2 a Rock & Roll Record[/a;bum], spending most of his time between Hollywood and New York City.
Coyote starred in Down and Out with the Dolls (2001) directed by Kurt Voss and also starring Lemmy Killmeister of Motorhead and Inger Lorre of The Nymphs. Coyote also appeared in director Luis Aira's "Girl In 3D".
Official website: www.coyoteshivers.com
If
Coyote Shivers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just look around
A thousand years to build
And now its comin' down
If this were a movie plot
I wouldn't believe it
But if this were a movie I could
Get up and leave it
If this were a movie
I'd say the acting is pretty bad
Everyone's stiff
The dialogue is sad
If this were a movie plot
I wouldn't believe it
But if this were a movie I could
Get up and leave it
Everything's fucked
Just look around
A thousand years to build
And now its comin' down
If this were a movie
I'd say the acting is pretty bad
Everyone's stiff
The dialogue is so sad
If this were a movie plot
I wouldn't believe it
But if this were a movie I could
Get up and leave it
Yeah if this were a movie I could
Get up and leave it
The song "If" by Coyote Shivers is a melancholic take on the current state of the world we live in. The lyrics lament the destruction of everything that we have built over thousands of years. The song seems to suggest that the world is falling apart and it's a tragedy that is almost too difficult to witness. The singer is unable to fathom how things have come to this point and wonders how things could have gone so wrong. The song expresses the sentiment that the state of the world is so unbearable that it's akin to walking out of a terrible movie.
The singer's frustration with the state of the world manifests in the lyrics through a sense of detachment. The world has become so unrecognizable that it feels like the events that are taking place around us are something that could only happen in a movie. The singer struggles to connect with what is happening around them and wonders how things could have gotten this bad. The lyrics bemoan the predictability of the situation and the people around us who seem unable to respond in any meaningful way.
All in all, "If" by Coyote Shivers is a sad and poignant song that speaks to the current state of the world. It's a song that speaks to the feelings of detachment, frustration, and despair that comes with witnessing the world around us fall apart.
Line by Line Meaning
Everything's fucked
The world is in a state of chaos and dysfunction
Just look around
Observe the current state of affairs
A thousand years to build
It took centuries to create society as we know it
And now its comin' down
But now it is falling apart before our eyes
If this were a movie plot
If this were a work of fiction, it would be hard to believe
I wouldn't believe it
The current state of affairs is so unbelievable that it is difficult to comprehend
But if this were a movie I could
If this were a film, I would have the power to leave and escape the bleak reality
Get up and leave it
Walk away from the chaos that surrounds us
If this were a movie
Speculating what could have been if life were like a fictional story
I'd say the acting is pretty bad
Displeased with the way people are performing in real life
Everyone's stiff
People are emotionally disconnected and unresponsive
The dialogue is sad
The conversations and interactions between individuals are depressing
Contributed by Jasmine K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Eric Schwab
One of the first songs I ever learned to play on guitar. Nice to hear it again
Brian Crain aka Cain
I remember Coyote Shivers spinning records at a club in Hollywood...pretty cool guy!
Jason Hochman
I remember having a band in the 1900s. We would start every show with a cover of "The Truth" by Coyote Shivers. Nobody had ever heard it, and thought that we wrote it. It was fun to play, and with only two chords was a good song for us to get started, and get into sync.
Jimmy DCM
Were you on lead violin back then on this song in the "1900's" there Potsie?
Karl Farr
This dude is a great human!
Kerouac Shivers
HEY!!! If anyone could find me the MP3 to this I would be forever grateful! I have been searching for the original for ages!
Don Rowe
You must have figured this out already after three years, but there are various websites that allow you to rip YouTube clips to mp3. Just Google it.
BrayneStatic
thanks so much i wanted the uncensored version for my ipod :D
SuperUkuleleGirl
This was in the days before Francis had his conjoined twin removed from his right side.
the lustkillers
now it's coming down.