The Kenny Chesney Song That Inspired a Husband and Wife to Change Their Entire Approach to Life: “We Quit Our Jobs, Sold Everything”

Kenny Chesney's music has always carried an aspirational sheen, with the ‘No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems’ hitmaker encouraging listeners to pursue a way of life that feels authentic to them, and that - more often than not - is spent in sunnier climes.

An array of Chesney's island-inspired odes follow a protagonist who grows jaded by the relentless, hurried pace of his 9-to-5 in the city, and decides to pack it all in and pack it all up into a long-haul suitcase, and embark on a coastal getaway that never ends. ‘Sherry's Living in Paradise’, ‘The Life’, ‘Coastal’ and ‘Island Boy’ all epitomise this beachside spirit, with Chesney regaling fans with vibrant, colourful vignettes loosely based on his friends in the US Virgin Islands.

For the majority of his listeners, these odes to long, hazy days spent working on your tan are nothing more than escapism. But for a significant portion of his No Shoes Nation fanbase, Chesney has motivated them to transform this fantasy into reality.

In his popular new book, HEART*LIFE*MUSIC, co-written with Holly Gleason, the ‘Just To Say We Did’ singer-songwriter recalls one particular moment where a couple came up him, and revealed that he'd changed their entire approach to life.

While delving into the creation of his lauded 2008 studio album, Lucky Old Sun, Chesney reflects on a surprising encounter he experienced while in the British Virgin Islands.

The five-time CMA and ACM Entertainer of the Year muses, “I was in Anegada, where I could tell this couple wanted to talk to me. They didn't want to intrude. Finally, they worked up the nerve. I figured it would be a typical fan interaction. I was wrong...“We're sorry to bother you”, the man began. “But we have to say thank you.””

Chesney responded, ““Thank me?”, with the couple explaining, “Yes, you know your song ‘Outta Here’?”” Chesney hesitantly replied, ““I do,” I said, wondering where this was going”.

Then, the couple shared that ‘Outta Here’, which appeared on Chesney's 2004 opus, When the Sun Goes Down, had given them the push they needed to change their way of life.

In HEART*LIFE*MUSIC, Chesney writes, “It became our life blueprint,” his wife continued. “We quit our jobs, sold everything, and bought a boat. We decided to start living.””

He heartwarmingly describes how their joie de vivre and energy radiated throughout the conversation, “They told me their whole life story. I looked at them, so proud because you could tell how fulfilled and happy they were. This was their best life.”

Although this is a seemingly dramatic response to a song, we're sure there are countless other stories just like this couple's, where listeners found a newfound sense of freedom and possibility through Chesney's sunny, serotonin-infused discography.

On ‘Outta Here’, like so many other of his galvanising odes to hopping off the career-ladder and living by your own flag, finds Chesney stepping into the shoes of a couple who depart for a “permanent vacation” (“Any where you want to go / As long as its sunny weather / Let the time fly by I don't mind / As long as we're together”).

Elsewhere in this chapter of HEART*LIFE*MUSIC, which topped The New York Times Best Seller lists for the Hardcover Nonfiction and Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction categories, Chesney sheds light on how much of Lucky Old Sun was inspired by snapshots and stories he accumulated from locals in the US Virgin Islands.

Whether you're weighing up whether to leave your office-desk and sweaty commute in the rearview mirror and hop on a plane to Mexico, or simply looking for a brief “headphone holiday”, as the January blues come into full effect, Chesney's music serves as an invaluable source of optimism and warmth, as this heartwarming story of how ‘Outta Here’ impacted one couple's life showcases.

For the full lyrics to Kenny Chesney's ‘Outta Here’, see below:

“Let's leave town on a permanent vacation
Lock up the house, pack up the station wagon
Make paradise our final destination
As long as we're out of here
There isn't no time like the present they say
Let's cruise all the way down A1A
Put the top down, and catch a few rays
Baby we'll be out of here

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Any where you want to go
As long as its sunny weather
Let the time fly by I don't mind
As long as we're together

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South of the border there's a place I know
Where James Taylor sang about Mexico
And the suns so hot we'll forget to go home
Baby we'll be out of here

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Any where you want to go
As long as its sunny weather
Let the time fly by I don't mind
As long as we're together

-

Baby drive through the county down to the lake
See if the catfish are jumping set out bait
And if we come up dry we'll just sleep in late
At least we'll be out of here
As long as we're out of here
Baby let's get out of here
Out of here

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Come on baby let's get out of here
Cruise down A1A
Hang out in key west a little while”

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