Story Behind the Song: The Detentions, “Coast”

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Dan Sullivan is part of the duo The Dententions. He and Chris Hillier (both are school teachers!) made a name for themselves with this song “Coast” when it began playing on Radio Margaritaville a couple of years ago. Thousands of fans have now discovered The Dententions and they recently received the “Best Duo / Trio” award for 2016 at the Trop Rock Music Awards in Key West. Here is Dan Sullivan’s story behind this breakout song.

Growing up in Kansas City, we would always head down to the Lake of the Ozarks and go water skiing and fishing. The Sportmans Harbor Resort was the place we always stayed. They had these little rustic cabins with their own private docks, general store, game room and fishing pier. We loved going down there for the weekend and our summer vacations.

Then came college, working on cruise ships, living in NYC, moving to Texas and finally teaching school.

I didn’t return to the Lake of the Ozarks until about 8 years ago when we had our family reunion there. One night after everyone was in bed I was sitting down by the fishing pier with my guitar. I noticed that all the dock lights on the lake had been changed to a royal blue color. It was so calm and peaceful just staring out over the glass-like water and listening to the sounds of the lake at night. Suddenly, this verse came to me:

“Everyone’s down for the night except for me and a few harbor lights
I’m sitting out here by the pier enjoying the quiet.”

I liked it but I couldn’t think of anything else to put with it at the time.

Having lived in Austin since 1995, the Gulf Coast became my new getaway, specifically Port Aransas. I kept thinking about how many times I’d been to Port A and how crossing that ferry always made my shoulders drop and I could just starting coasting. And that’s when I decided I wanted a write song that played on the duality of the word coast.

Two years later I was still stuck with just those two lines of lyrics and the song idea of “Coast.” It was around that time one of my student teachers starting their “total teach.” Basically, I had to stay out of my classroom and let them sink or swim with my students. So, I locked myself in my storage closet and decided to try and finish the song.

I also wanted to see if I could write a beach song without any kind of alcohol or drinking references in case a student might overhear me singing in the closet. I’m proud to say there is no mention of drinking or alcohol at all in the song! It’s amazing the kind of ideas your mind can come up with when you are staring at white washed cinder block walls in a school closet.

I’m glad I didn’t give up on those two lines because the song has definitely struck a chord with many different people around the United States and beyond. It reminds me of good times growing up at the lake, my time spent at sea and all the great memories I’ve made with my family down in Port Aransas.

And that’s my story. Thank you for letting me share it with you. Until I see you again… just Coast! :-)
–Dan

Listen to The Detentions perform their breakout song “Coast” from their second album:

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Wouldn’t you like to take a few moments out of life and just “Coast?”
Download your own copy here:
Amazon: “Coast“

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