There were at least two people in the world who treated Enya’s “Sail Away” like a banger.

One was appropriately my third grade art teacher, Mrs. Morgan. The other was… my Daddy.

We’d cruise around with all the windows down in his custom black-to-blue ombre GMC show truck, blaring Enya. On pretty days with nowhere to be and nothing to do, the jingle of his keys from the bowl by the front door signified time for “just driving around,” the old familiar phrase we could finish almost before he even opened his mouth.

Though he never really said it, the invitation was almost always open, and I frequently took him up on it. By the time I graduated and left Beaumont, we logged hundreds of miles and playback hours doing absolutely nothing at all.

It was a special treat for both of us the times that I came home and offered to do the driving around myself. One of those times with the windows down, moonroof open, Banks’ “Drowning (Lido Remix)” came up on my stereo. I’d zoned out and let it play for about a minute before I realized it might not be his cup of tea.

But as I glanced to the passenger seat and reached down for the controls, I noticed his signature head nod and realized I’d almost killed his vibe.

In that moment, something more sublime struck me too. “Drowning (Lido Remix)” was our “Sail Away,” and through a pair of unlikely songs, we’d come full circle in a lifetime of cruising together.

---