‘Coyote’ pairs Kacey Musgraves with Gregory Alan Isakov, and the result is something deeply atmospheric and emotionally restrained. The ethereal collaboration appears on Musgraves’ widely celebrated 2026 studio album, Middle of Nowhere.

It’s a song about connection that never quite settles, always just out of reach.

Built on soft, strumming acoustic guitar, the track carries a somber, almost weightless feeling.

Gregory Alan Isakov’s backing vocals add a haunting layer, especially in the chorus, making the song feel like it’s echoing rather than arriving.

The coyote metaphor sits at the center of everything: wild, elusive, impossible to fully hold onto.

This is about getting close to someone who can’t stay. Someone who moves in, then disappears, not out of malice, but instinct.

The lyrics, “I can defend the way I’ve been, or the shadows where I have,” it feels like an acknowledgment of her own role in it too.

There’s no clear villain here. Just two people shaped by their pasts, trying and failing to meet in the middle.

The push and pull is constant. They come back, they leave, they almost get it right, but not quite. And that’s the ache of it.

“I saw a coyote running down the highway last night
And it made me think of you, yeah, it made me think of you
For a second as my headlights reflected in his eyes
It looked like he'd been crying, it looked like he'd been crying
Trying to find somebody or some place he's always looking for
-
Pretty things that can't be held, can't return the love they felt
You're only gonna hurt yourself holding out your hand
But I still think of you sometimes and the flash of fear in your eyes
I got too close and now I understand, now I understand
-
[Verse 2: Kacey Musgraves & Gregory Alan Isakov, Kacey Musgraves]
He said, "Hey, I know it's been a minute, hope I didn't wake you up
But I just got back in town and I'm over by your house
I can't defend the way I've been or the shadows where I hide
But, baby, let me in and at least just let me try
Try to find a way to change your mind before the light comes in"
-
Pretty things that can't be held, can't return the love they felt
You're only gonna hurt yourself holding out your hand
But I still think of you sometimes and the flash of fear in your eyes
I got too close and now I understand, now I understand
-
I saw a coyote running down the highway last night
And it made me think of you, yeah, it made me think of you”

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Kacey Musgraves

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Gregory Alan Isakov

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