“Coyote, My Little Brother” is often attributed to Pete Seeger, and while the American folk artist did popularize the song, it was actually written by Peter La Farge in 1963. Though it’s no wonder why Seeger’s version is more popular; his vocal delivery was more deep and reliable than that of the original artist. From the composition’s near-yodel jump to the falsetto high note down to the rich country-ish lows, this was certainly an unexpected choice for the artist Mitski to undertake on her latest Spotify single.
In Mitski’s hands, the environmentalist ballad is haunting yet placid, gentle but rich, and definitely indie-folk. She kept the instrumentation bare-bones, just like La Farge and Seeger’s versions, adding just two instruments. Mitski recorded the song with a double bassist (Jeni Magana) and a guitarist (Patrick Hyland). The sage words “Don’t poison the sky, don’t poison the sky…” never sounded so hauntingly sweet.
