Cherokee Girl

by Charles de Lint


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


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

singing hey ya, hey ya, hey ya


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

hey ya, hey ya, hey ya


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

singing hey ya, hey ya, hey ya


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

singing hey ya, hey ya, hey ya


refrain:


down along the river where the sycamores grow

see the red rocks rise, hear the song of the crow

she's got desert in her heart, so deep and old

but the Cherokee girl's got a sycamore soul

singing hey ya, hey ya, hey ya


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

singing hey ya, hey ya, hey ya












About the Author:
Charles de Lint is the author of Circle of Cats, Waifs and Strays, The Onion Girl, and numerous other works of fiction for children, teenagers, and adults. For more information, visit the author’s Endicott bio page.

"Cherokee Girl" is a song lyric, with music written by Charles de Lint. It was composed on April 28, 2002 at Endicott West in Tucson, Arizona. The lyrics are copyright © 2002 by Charles de Lint and may not be reproduced in any form without the author’s express written permission.

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