I think of this as a healing song. Whenever I sing it, I think of someone who could use a little positive energy in their life and send it out to them. You can, too. The more voices we get on the "hey ya, hey ya, hey ya" response line, the more energy goes out.
Coyote's in the wash, you know he never gets stuck He drives a battered old '57 pickup truck Cherokee girl's sitting right by his side She's got straw-gold hair, she gives a prayer to the sky Singing hey ya, hey ya, hey ya / hey ya, hey ya, hey ya (after every verse and refrain)
Up in the Rincons, back in some canyon There's a mesquite fire and the people are gathering Rattlesnake rattle shake, stick on drum And the Cherokee girl leads them in her song
refrain: There are four directions, only one creator Call him what you want, you know it doesn't matter There's only one thing you've got to remember Everything in this world is a brother or sister
The red-tailed hawk he's a brujo man He's got a word or two about the care of the land But nobody's listening, they don't understand They just see a hawk, they don't see the man
Oh the aunts and uncles watch over the fire While the people let the flames build higher and higher Inside the lodge steam jumps from the rocks And the Cherokee girl sings about the hawk refrain
Down along the river where the sycamores grow See the red rocks rise, hear the song of the crow She's got the desert in her heart, so deep and old But the Cherokee girl's got a sycamore soul
Coyote's in the wash, you know he never gets stuck He drives a battered old '57 pickup truck Jackrabbit's sitting in the shotgun seat Tapping her foot to a Cherokee beat