Doby Coyote

I just posted my latest, Doby Coyote, a running eight-bar bass line built on a B-flat seventh chord with drums and various instruments providing the melody. The bass line doesn't change throughout, a habit I've tried to move away from, but somehow this one has a compelling, rolling quality that resisted my efforts to add variation. (I may perhaps be reaching the limits of my current skills.) When the back-beat kicks in, the song's a head bobber. It just seems to want to keep going.

The genesis of the song began with an idea that I had to write a series of stories using animals as characters. The stories would be written sort of like Zen koans or parables, and they'd have commentary like traditional texts. The main character I imagined to be a young coyote named Doby and the parables would chronicle his adventures. The stories, I figured, would be accompanied by music. This song is Doby Coyote's theme. As a theme to return to at various points, I'm quite happy with it. I'm not sure how strong it is as a stand-alone song. But those who have heard it really seem to like it, so I posted it. I hope I kept it interesting my mixing up the instrumentation and moving from acoustic in the first part to electric in the second.

In case anybody's interested, here's a draft of the story I wrote that inspired the song:

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Doby Coyote trotted through and open meadow with tall grass warming under the summer sun. A jackrabbit popped his head up, looking sideways at Doby.

Yum, Doby thought.

"I see you," the jackrabbit said.

"I know."

"So don't bother."

"I won't."

Doby stopped, sat down, scratched his ear.

"Nice meadow," Doby said.

"The grass is delicious here," Jackrabbit replied.

Doby plucked and chewed a green blade.

"Good for the digestion but, frankly, I don't see why folks like you relish it so."

"How could you? You're a coyote," Jackrabbit said.

"I try to be broad minded."

"That's a laugh."

Doby stood up, doing a long stretch of his hind legs and then the front.

"You know what," Doby said.

"What."

"I changed my mind."

With that Doby Coyote darted toward Jackrabbit who, with a spring of his back legs, bolted into the woods, Doby hot on his heels. Jackrabbit bounded and dashed around the trees and over the brambles. Doby deftly jumped deadwood and dodged trunks in pursuit. But Jackrabbit was faster and soon would reach the open field where Doby would have no chance to catch him.

Snap! An old steel trap grabbed Jackrabbit's leg, stopping him with a jerk.

"Aiy!" He shrieked.

Doby rushed up and, seeing Jackrabbit's plight, stopped a few feet away.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I was only chasing you for fun and to scare you a little. I'm not even that hungry right now."

"I know," said Jackrabbit as he winced in pain. "I was glad you did. I wanted to show off."

"Maybe I can get you out of the trap somehow," Doby said.

"It won't do any good. My back leg is broken. I cannot survive," Jackrabbit said. "You're a coyote. Do what you do and make it quick."

"Are you sure?" Doby asked.

"Yes. Please hurry."

Doby clamped his jaws on Jackrabbit's neck and shook him with all his might until Jackrabbit was dead. Then he pulled the corpse from the trap and took it to the meadow to eat what he could under the warm sun.

Commentary:

Buzzard: Nature's way. I hope Doby left some for the buzzards.

Tortoise: Doby was rash. It was an unnecessary killing made necessary by folly. Doby needed discipline.

Buzzard: Creatures need to test their capabilities and learn their limits. Predators and prey, mates and rivals all contrive situations to do that. It's dangerous and sometimes tragic. But not learning is more dangerous and nearly always tragic.