Knowing that Joni is fascinated with the Southwest
and Native American folklore, I think of Coyote as
being like their Coyote, who is a loner, but also a kind
of trickster. I'm not an expert, but I think that the
point of the mythic Coyote's actions is that he teaches the
other characters in his tales about life and themselves -
by charming, surprising (tricking), and sometimes infuriating them.
Joni is lucky to be able to say "no regrets" in this context,
because Coyote can do a lot of harm to the unenlightened.
So, although it's from a different
album, this song has somewhat of the flavor of
Don Juan's Reckless Daughter (the song) to me - that
wisdom is being found from ancient sources -
someone who is closer to nature, "up on your ranch".
Your mileage may vary with this theory, but it's the
suggestion I get from the
song.
