Burn the Ships (song)

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Burn the Ships (song) - Wikipedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Burn the Ships"

Single by For King & Country

from the album Burn the Ships

Released

30 August 2018

Genre

CCM
pop rock

Length

3:40

Label

Word Entertainment

Songwriter(s)

For King & Country singles chronology

"God Only Knows"
(2018)

"Burn the Ships"
(2018)

"Together"
(2020)

Music video

"Burn the Ships" on YouTube

"Burn the Ships" is a song performed by an Australian Christian pop duo For King & Country. The song impacted Christian radio in the United States on 30 August 2018,^[1] becoming the third single from Burn the Ships (2018). The song was written by Matt Hales, Seth Mosley, Joel Smallbone and Luke Smallbone.^[2]

The song peaked at No. 3 on the US Hot Christian Songs chart, becoming their eleventh top ten single.^[3]

Background

"Burn the Ships" was initially availed on 28 September 2018 as the fifth promotional single from Burn the Ships (2018).^[4] In an interview with Billboard,^[5] the duo shared the inspiration of the song, saying that it came from Luke Smallbone's wife, Courtney, battling with an addiction to prescribed medication, combined with a historical incident during the Spanish conquest of Mexico in 1519 AD, where a Spanish commander named Hernán Cortés, landed his ships on enemy shores unaware of what awaited his arrival. To ensure that the men were committed to their mission, he proclaimed, "Burn the ships!"^[6] Luke Smallbone shared in an interview with NewReleaseToday that the song became the album's title track after realising that the theme of "no retreat" was recurring on the album especially in songs like "Never Give Up" and "Fight On, Fighter" and he opined that "it makes the album and the title feel potent."^[7]

The song was released to Christian radio in the United States on 30 August 2019, becoming Burn the Ships' third official single.^[1] A radio-adapted version of the song was released in digital format on 27 September 2019.^[8] On 4 October 2019, For King & Country released a remix of the song by R3hab.^[9]

Composition

"Burn the Ships" composed in the key of F major with a tempo of 94 beats per minute.^[10] For King & Country's vocal range spans from C₃ to C₅.^[11]

Commercial performance

The song reached No. 1 on Billboard's Christian Airplay chart. It has sold 32,000 copies in the United States as of November 2019.^[12]

Music video

The music video of "Burn the Ships" was published on For King & Country's YouTube channel on 5 October 2018,^[13] celebrating the release of the album, which arrived on the same day. It was filmed on Lady Washington,^[14] the duo singing aboard the ship before leaving an explosive and retreating to shore.

Accolades

Awards
Year	Organization	Award	Result	Ref
2020	GMA Dove Awards	Song of the Year	Nominated	^[15]
2020	GMA Dove Awards	Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year	Nominated	^[15]

Track listing

"Burn the Ships" (Single Edit)^[8]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Burn the Ships" (Single Edit)	Matt Hales Seth Mosley Joel Smallbone Luke Smallbone	3:40

"Burn the Ships" (R3hab Remix)^[9]
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Burn the Ships" (R3hab Remix)	2:26

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "Burn the Ships"
Chart (2018–20)	Peak position
UK Cross Rhythms Weekly Chart^[16]	1
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)^[17]	20
US Christian Songs (Billboard)^[3]	3
US Christian Airplay (Billboard)^[18]	1
US Christian AC (Billboard)^[19]	1

Year-end charts

2019 year-end chart performance for "Burn the Ships"
Chart (2019)	Position
US Christian Songs (Billboard)^[20]	45
US Christian Airplay (Billboard)^[21]	38
US Christian AC (Billboard)^[22]	40
US Christian CHR (Billboard)^[23]	35

2020 year-end chart performance for "Burn the Ships"
Chart (2020)	Position
UK Cross Rhythms Annual Chart^[24]	19
US Christian Songs (Billboard)^[25]	15
US Christian Airplay (Billboard)^[26]	15
US Christian AC (Billboard)^[27]	17
US Christian CHR (Billboard)^[28]	1

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)^[29]	Platinum	1,000,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Version	Format	Label	Ref.
United States	30 August 2019	Single	Christian radio	Word Entertainment	^[1]
Various	27 September 2019	Single	Digital download streaming		^[8]
Various	4 October 2019	R3hab remix	Digital download streaming		^[9]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "for KING & COUNTRY - Burn The Ships - Daily Play MPE®Daily Play MPE®". Daily Play MPE®. Destiny Media Technologies Inc. 31 July 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
^ Monger, Timothy. "Burn the Ships - for KING & COUNTRY | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
^ ^a ^b "For King Country Chart History (Hot Christian Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
^ Longs, Herb (28 September 2018). "For KING & COUNTRY Releases Title Track From New Album". The Christian Beat. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
^ Price, Deborah Evans (8 October 2018). "For King & Country on the Struggles That Informed 'Burn the Ships,' Their 'Most Mature Record' Yet | Billboard". Billboard. Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
^ "for KING & COUNTRY: burn the ships | world tour 2019 | Tivoli Foundation". Tivoli Theatre Foundation. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
^ Frederick, Jake (25 October 2018). "for KING & COUNTRY: Burning Ships | AN NRT EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW | NewReleaseToday". NewReleaseToday. NRT Media, Inc. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Burn the Ships (Single Edit) - Single by for KING & COUNTRY on Apple Music". Apple Music. United States. Apple Inc. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Burn the Ships (R3hab Remix) - Single by for KING & COUNTRY on Apple Music". Apple Music. United States. Apple Inc. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
^ "Key & BPM for Burn The Ships by for KING & COUNTRY | Tunebat". Tunebat. 5 October 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
^ "For King & Country "Burn the Ships" Sheet Music in F Major - Download & Print - SKU: MN0190063". Musicnotes.com. 7 November 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
^ Bjorke, Matt (30 November 2019). "Top 30 Digital Country Songs: November 24, 2019". Rough Stock. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
^ "for KING & COUNTRY - burn the ships (Official Music Video) - YouTube". YouTube. YouTube, LLC. 5 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
^ Longs, Herb (5 October 2018). "For KING & COUNTRY Celebrates Album Release With Stunning "Burn The Ships" Video". The Christian Beat. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
^ "2020 Nominees | The 51st Annual GMA Dove Awards". GMA Dove Awards. Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
^ "UK Cross Rhythms Weekly Chart". Cross Rhythms. 15 November 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
^ "For King Country Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
^ "For King Country Chart History (Christian Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
^ "For King & Country Chart History (Christian AC)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
^ "Hot Christian Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
^ "Christian Airplay Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
^ "Christian AC Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
^ "Christian Pop Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
^ "Cross Rhythms– Year-End 2020". Cross Rhythms. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
^ "Hot Christian Songs - Year-End | Billboard". Billboard. Billboard-Hollywood. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
^ "Christian Airplay Songs - Year-End | Billboard". Billboard. Billboard-Hollywood. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
^ "Christian AC Songs - Year-End | Billboard". Billboard. Billboard-Hollywood. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
^ "Christian Pop Songs - Year-End | Billboard". Billboard. Billboard-Hollywood. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
^ "American single certifications – For King & Country – Burn the Ships". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 29 July 2024.

v t e For King & Country
Joel Smallbone Luke Smallbone Discography Songs
Studio albums	Crave (2012) Run Wild. Live Free. Love Strong. (2014) Burn the Ships (2018) A Drummer Boy Christmas (2020) What Are We Waiting For? (2022)
Live albums	Christmas: Live from Phoenix (2017)
EPs	Into the Silent Night: The EP (2013)
Singles	"Busted Heart (Hold On to Me)" "The Proof of Your Love" "Fix My Eyes" "Shoulders" "Joy" "God Only Knows" "Burn the Ships" "Together" "Amen" "Relate" "For God Is with Us" "Heavenly Hosts" "Love Me Like I Am"
Featured singles	"Kingdom Come"
Promotional singles	"Unsung Hero"
Concert tours	Burn the Ships World Tour A Drummer Boy Christmas Tour What Are We Waiting For Tour