Coyote
Joni Mitchell / The Band Lyrics

No regrets Coyote
I have no regrets, Coyote.

We just come from such different sets of circumstance
We have vastly different backgrounds and experiences.

I'm up all night in the studios
I spend my nights working in recording studios.

And you're up early on your ranch
You wake up early to tend to your horses on the ranch.

You'll be brushing out a brood mare's tail
You'll be grooming a female horse's tail for mating purposes.

While the sun is ascending
While the sun is rising.

And I'll just be getting home with my reel to reel
I'll be finishing up my work with recording equipment.

There's no comprehending
It's impossible to understand.

Just how close to the bone and the skin and the eyes
Just how intimate and personal it can feel.

And the lips you can get
The emotional depth you can achieve.

And still feel so alone
And still feel isolated.

And still feel related
And still feel connected.

Like stations in some relay
Like participants in a larger process.

You're not a hit and run driver, no, no
You're not just a fleeting presence in my life.

Racing away
Quickly disappearing.

You just picked up a hitcher
You gave me a ride while I was hitchhiking.

A prisoner of the white lines on the freeway
Trapped by the constraints of travel and transportation.

We saw a farmhouse burning down
We witnessed a house being destroyed by fire.

In the middle of nowhere
In a remote area.

In the middle of the night
Late at night.

And we rolled right past that tragedy
We ignored that tragedy and continued driving.

Till we turned into some road house lights
Till we arrived at a roadside bar with lights on.

Where a local band was playing
Where a band from the area was performing.

Locals were up kicking and shaking on the floor
The people from the area were dancing energetically on the dance floor.

And the next thing I know
Suddenly.

That Coyote's at my door
You appeared at my doorstep.

He pins me in a corner and he won't take "No!"
You cornered me and refused to take no for an answer.

He drags me out on the dance floor
You forcibly pulled me onto the dance floor.

And we're dancing close and slow
We're dancing together intimately and slowly.

Now he's got a woman at home
You have a woman waiting for you at home.

He's got another woman down the hall
You're involved with another woman who lives nearby.

He seems to want me anyway
You still want me despite being with other women.

Why'd you have to get so drunk
Why did you have to become so intoxicated?

And lead me on that way
And give me false hope and expectations.

I looked a Coyote right in the face
I encountered a real coyote face-to-face.

On the road to Baljennie near my old home town
On the road to Baljennie, which is near my hometown.

He went running through the whisker wheat
The coyote ran through the wheat on the roadside.

Chasing some prize down
Chasing after some sort of prey.

And a hawk was playing with him
A hawk was interacting with the coyote.

Coyote was jumping straight up and making passes
The coyote was jumping up and trying to catch the hawk.

He had those same eyes - just like yours
The coyote's eyes looked just like yours.

Under your dark glasses
Despite the fact that you wear dark glasses.

Privately probing the public rooms
Secretly observing the public areas.

And peeking through keyholes in numbered doors
And looking through keyholes in doors with numbers on them.

Where the players lick their wounds
Where the performers deal with their emotional injuries.

And take their temporary lovers
And spend time with their casual romantic partners.

And their pills and powders to get them through this passion play
And rely on drugs to help them get through their emotional entanglements.

No regrets, Coyote
I have no regrets, Coyote.

I just get off up aways
I enjoy being alone for a while.

You just picked up a hitcher
You gave me a ride while I was hitchhiking.

A prisoner of the white lines on the freeway
Trapped by the constraints of travel and transportation.

Coyote's in the coffee shop
You're in the coffee shop.

He's staring a hole in his scrambled eggs
You're staring blankly at your scrambled eggs.

He picks up my scent on his fingers
You can smell me on your fingers.

While he's watching the waitresses' legs
While you're ogling the waitresses' legs.

He's too fat from the Bay of Fundy
You've gained weight from overeating seafood from the Bay of Fundy.

From Appaloosas and Eagles and tides
From living near Appaloosa horses, eagles, and ocean tides.

And the air conditioned cubicles
And from working in air-conditioned office spaces.

And the carbon ribbon rides
And from using carbon paper for typewriters and printers.

Are spelling it out so clear
Are showing the signs very clearly.

Either he's going to have to stand and fight
Either you'll have to confront your problems directly.

Or take off out of here
Or you'll have to leave and run away.

I tried to run away myself
I also attempted to run away from my problems.

To run away and wrestle with my ego
To run away and deal with my issues of self-importance.

And with this flame
And to deal with my passion for you.

You put here in this Eskimo
You created this emotional situation in me.

In this hitcher
In this situation where I'm depending on you for transportation.

In this prisoner
In this situation where I feel trapped and unable to escape.

Of the fine white lines
Of the continuous white lines on the freeway.

Of the white lines on the free, free way
Of the white lines on the freeway that signify my constraint and imprisonment.