An adult male playing a violin in an outdoor natural setting with a red fox nearby, lush greenery and hills visible. 3:27
Andy Thorn — ThornHub channel icon Andy Thorn — ThornHubOriginal creator 212K views Save

Banjo practice with a wild red fox listening

Andy Thorn plays his music outdoors, on the hillside where he lives in Boulder, Colorado. One day a wild red fox wandered over to listen, and then came back. more

Andy plays a lot of instruments, and the hillside is his practice room. He and his wife, Cecilia, live in the middle of a forest, so wildlife is never far away.

A man plays a violin outdoors near trees, with mountains in the distance at sunset. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Andy practices outdoors, with mountains in the distance and the sun going down.

The first visit came while he was playing his 12-string guitar. He sang his favorite song, “Fox on the Run,” and the fox sat quietly and listened.

A bearded man in a hat holds a guitar and looks up at the sky, with a tree behind him. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
The fox first came by while Andy was playing guitar and singing.

Then it happened again. Andy was alone with his banjo when the fox came back to hear him play.

When the music stopped, the fox came back for an encore. The visitor listened a while longer, then headed home to the family in the forest.

The visits inspired Andy to write a song about the fox, called “A Fox I Wish I Could Be.” It opens with this line: “You came to me in spring like a flower.”

A red fox stands alert in dry grass with patches of snow nearby, looking toward the camera. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
The red fox who inspired the song stands in dry grass near patches of snow.

Much of the song is about wondering. He wants to know where the fox goes after leaving, what happens down in the den, and whether there is snuggling with friends and family. “I wish I could see the things a fox sees,” he sings.

Other lines are plain fact, set to music. Every time that tail flits past the window, they rush outside just to say hello. He loves the ears, the socks and the tail, and the way the fox looks at him.

An adult male playing a violin in an outdoor natural setting with a red fox nearby, lush greenery and hills visible. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Andy Thorn plays his music outdoors, on the hillside where he lives in Boulder, Colorado.

The fox has even brought the little ones by to visit. In the last verse, Andy makes a simple promise: “I’ll yawn when you yawn. I’ll sleep when you sleep.”