‘Coyote Song’: Original, composed by Erika Connor and Sean Whittaker; bass composition, music arrangement and programming by Sean Whittaker; vocals, guitar composition and lyrics by Erika Connor, ©2009
* The coyotes remain anonymous. If anyone knows their whereabouts, please contact me so I can credit them.
This song is a lament. It came out of an event that happened in my home territory some years ago. Sixteen dead coyotes were found dumped in a ditch off a country road. There were no bullet wounds or any markings, so it is assumed they were poisoned. In the song I use gunfire because this is what it felt like to me. I was used to seeing their tracks and signs on the escarpment, knowing they were there, and for days there was no movement, just silence. When the song was completed I played it over and over while I wrote, so that it echoed through the house. I went walking through the evening forest in a trance. I could hear the music playing inside me. I stopped. No, it was real. The coyotes were singing again. Maybe they had heard me calling?
They said, ‘All is well. We are still here.”
‘Sirius’, pastel on board, Erika Connor 2009
