Burn the Ships

Album: Burn the Ships (2018)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • When Courtney, the wife of For King & Country's Luke Smallbone, was pregnant with their second son, she had to deal with acute morning sickness. The doctor gave her some pills to help with the nausea, which started to affect her mentally and she found couldn't stop taking them. Even after having outpatient therapy at a mental hospital, Courtney kept feeling a pull to the pills. One day, she decided she had to do something symbolic and flush the pills down the toilet. Then she'd be done with the guilt and the shame and feel able to move on with her life.

    This song was inspired by the episode. Smallbone explained to CCM magazine: "When she was flushing those pills, the analogy of burning the ships came to me: the story of the sailors not wanting to explore the new world, wanting the comforts of their boats. Their leader calls them out and says, 'We've got to burn the ships. This is a new world.'"
  • "Ships" was For King & Country's sixth #1 on the Christian Airplay chart. Luke Smallbone told Billboard he was "incredibly grateful and humbled" as he was unsure a song about addiction would be accepted by the band's fanbase.

Comments: 1

  • Jeffrey C. from Maumelle, ArkansasOne of my all-time favorite songs! Addiction and suicide strikes at the very heart of humanity. Only by God's grace can it be overcome and left behind without the guilt and shame. Glory be to Jesus Christ who bore all of this and so much more on the cross!
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Jason Newsted (ex-Metallica)

Jason Newsted (ex-Metallica)Songwriter Interviews

The former Metallica bassist talks about his first time writing a song with James Hetfield, and how a hand-me-down iPad has changed his songwriting.

History Of Rock

History Of RockSong Writing

An interview with Dr. John Covach, music professor at the University of Rochester whose free online courses have become wildly popular.

Gilby Clarke

Gilby ClarkeSongwriter Interviews

The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.

Verdine White of Earth, Wind & Fire

Verdine White of Earth, Wind & FireSongwriter Interviews

The longtime bassist of Earth, Wind & Fire discusses how his band came to do a holiday album, and offers insight into some of the greatest dance/soul tunes of all-time.

Julian Lennon

Julian LennonSongwriter Interviews

Julian tells the stories behind his hits "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes," and fills us in on his many non-musical pursuits. Also: what MTV meant to his career.

Tom Keifer of Cinderella

Tom Keifer of CinderellaSongwriter Interviews

Tom talks about the evolution of Cinderella's songs through their first three albums, and how he writes as a solo artist.