Coyote Song lyrics by John S. Reed
A-oo, my brothers, the moon is red,
And the antelope starts from his prairie bed;
Then join ye again in the ancient threne
For the day that’s dead
And the hunt that’s fled
And the terror of things unseen.
Afar, afar on the starlit plain,
Our fathers howled where the deer had lain
And hung on the flanks of the bison run,
For the bull that fell
In the wild pell-mell
Was dead ere the night was done.
No more the warrior rides his raids
And the hunting-star of the prairie fades,
While a fiery comet tears the night
With a demon’s shriek
And a crimson streak,
All ablaze with the white man’s light!
A-oo, my brothers, the stars are red
And the lean coyote must mourn unfed
Come join ye again in the ancient croon,
For the dawn is gray
And another day
Has faded the red, red moon.