1693 – Joni Mitchell – Coyote (1976)

 

Escrita por Joni Mitchell, foi gravada em 1976 e lançada em novembro de 1976, no disco Hejira. Sairia depois em 1977 em compacto, com Blue Motel room como Lado B. Foi produzida por Henry Lewi e Joni Mitchell. Foi inspirada em Sham Shepard, que era casado e que Joni teve uma rápida ligação durante a turnê de Bob Dylan de 1975-1976 chamada Rolling Thunder Revue. No documentário de Martin Scorcese sobre essa turnê tem uma filmagem de Joni tocando essa música na casa de Gordon Lightfoot, com Bob Dylan e Roger McGuinn acompanhando-a nos violões. McGuinn antes dela cantar disse: “Joni compôs essa música sobre essa turnê, durante esse turnê e para essa turnê”. É uma canção sobre uma trepada. Bay of Fundy era um cottage que Sam Shepard tinha em West Advocate, Nova Scotia, Canadá. Baljennie é em Saskatchewan, onde Joni Mitchell cresceu. Chegou ao número 79 no Canadá. Joni Mitchell tocou violão e guitarra e cantou. Jaco Pastorius tocou baixo e Bobbye Hall tocou percussão.

A letra:

No regrets, coyote
We just come from such different sets of circumstance
I'm up all night in the studios
And you're up early on your ranch
You'll be brushing out a brood mare's tail
While the sun is ascending
And I'll just be getting home with my reel to reel
There's no comprehending
Just how close to the bone and the skin and the eyes
And the lips you can get
And still feel so alone
And still feel related
Like stations in some relay
You're not a hit and run driver, no, no
Racing away
You just picked up a hitcher
A prisoner of the white lines on the freeway

We saw a farmhouse burning down
In the middle of nowhere
In the middle of the night
And we rolled right past that tragedy
'Til we turned down to some road house lights
Where a local band was playing
Locals were up kicking and shaking on the floor
And the next thing I know
That coyote's at my door
He pins me in a corner and he won't take no
He drags me out on the dance floor
And we're dancing close and slow
Now he's got a woman at home
He's got another woman down the hall
He seems to want me anyway
Why'd you have to get so drunk
And lead me on that way
You just picked up a hitcher
A prisoner of the white lines on the freeway

I looked a coyote right in the face
On the road to Baljennie, near my old home town
He went running thru the whisker wheat
Chasing some prize down
And a hawk was playing with him
Coyote was jumping straight up and making passes
He had those same eyes just like yours
Under your dark glasses
Privately probing the public rooms
And peeking through keyholes in numbered doors
Where the players lick their wounds
And take their temporary lovers
And their pills and powders
To get them through this passion play
No regrets, coyote
I just get off up aways
You just picked up a hitcher
A prisoner of the white lines on the freeway

Coyote's in the coffee shop
He's staring a hole in his scrambled eggs
He picks up my scent on his fingers
While he's watching the waitresses' legs
He's too far from the Bay of Fundy
From appaloosas and eagles and tides
And the air conditioned cubicles
And the carbon ribbon rides
Are spelling it out so clear
Either he's going to have to stand and fight
Or take off out of here
I tried to run away myself
To run away and wrestle with my ego
With this, this flame
You put here in this Eskimo
In this hitcher
In this prisoner
Of the fine white lines
Of the white lines on the free, freeway

A versão de Joni Mitchell:

 

A versão de Aoife O'Dovan:

A versão de JK Jones: