Many Trails Lyrics - Bill Miller

A boy heard the voice of the whippoorwill one night 

And went out to find where he was singing 

He had to walk quite a ways through a big field 

Because the song of the whippoorwill carried so well in the wind 

He sounded much closer then he really was 

And on the way the boy found a well worn trail 

So he stayed on it for a while 

And sitting in the middle of the trail was coyote 

And coyote was singing too 

He turned and saw the boy and he said 

"Why are you following me?" 

The boy was frightened and said 

"Well, the trail you made happened to be a short 

And easy way through this field. 

Then coyote asked, "Well, if you're not following me 

Then why are you here?" 

"Well, I heard the beautiful song of the whippoorwill 

And wanted to watch him sing" 

"Well, do you not think my songs are beautiful?", said coyote 

"Oh", said the boy, "They're good but I hear you all the time 

I much prefer the songs of the whippoorwill" 

This made coyote furious and he was jealous of the whippoorwill's song 

He said, "Listen to my night song you might like this one" 

And he pulled back his head and yodeled out a tune 

The boy covered his ears and politely said 

"Thank you for the song but I must be going now" 

"Well", coyote said 

"I can show you a short cut to the whippoorwill boy 

And where he sings is just over there" 

Pointing his claw, smiling out of the side of his mouth 

The boy paused, looked around 

He knew the night was passing fast so he agreed to follow coyote 

But coyote's trail was rough and rocky 

And the boy fell in quite a few gopher holes along the way 

Coyote turned around and laughed 

And he yelled to the boy, "We're almost there, hurry up" 

Coyote was at a full trot but the boy 

Had just fallen again and hurt his knee 

And by the time he got to the place 

Where the whippoorwill had been singing all night 

It was morning, Whippoorwill was gone and so was coyote 

In fact he could hear coyote's songs in another field 

So the boy turned and headed for home 

Covered with burns, mosquito bites and a skinned up knee 

And it was many summers later 

When the boy became a wiser man 

And he realized, there are no shortcuts 

To find something you really love 

But there are many trails in this life 

So you must stay true to your path 

And always keep and eye out for coyote