Ship of Fools (World Party song)

1986 single by World Party

"Ship of Fools"

Single by World Party
from the album  Private Revolution
B-side| "World Groove
(Do The Mind Guerrilla)"
Released| 25 November 1986
Genre| Rock
Length| 4:27
Label| Chrysalis Records – 43052
Songwriter(s)| Karl Wallinger
Producer(s)| Karl Wallinger
World Party singles chronology
| "Private Revolution"
(1986)  | "Ship of Fools"
(1986)  | "Put the Message in the Box"
(1990)

|
|

Music video
"Ship of Fools" on YouTube

"Ship of Fools" (subtitled "Save Me from Tomorrow"[1]) is a rock song by World Party released as a second single from the 1987 debut album Private Revolution. It was written and produced by singer and multi-instrumentalist Karl Wallinger, formerly of The Waterboys. Wallinger was the sole member of World Party at the time of release.[2]

## Overview

[edit]

It was World Party's sole Billboard Top 40 single, debuting on that chart on 4 April 1987 and peaking at number 27.[3] It also reached no. 42 on the UK singles chart, no. 5 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart,[4] and no. 4 on the Australian Music Report chart.[5]

A longer version, at 6 minutes and 40 seconds, was released as a 12" single, with a double B Side of World Groove (Do The Mind Guerrilla) and Nowhere Man (Ensign ENYX 6606).

Owing to its environmentalist lyrics and content, the song has also been included on over a dozen compilations, including Greenpeace's Rainbow Warriors compilation. The music video also heavily features environmental themes, with Wallinger and a group of musicians superimposed over images depicting environmental issues.[2]

World Party performed “Ship Of Fools” on one of the last editions of "Whistle Test", recorded at BBC Cymru Wales's Studio C1, in Cardiff. They were a last minute replacement for The Smiths, who pulled out following the death of Morrissey’s grandmother.

## Track listings

[edit]

All songs by Karl Wallinger except where noted

7-inch single

1. "Ship of Fools" – 4:13
2. "World Groove (Do You Mind Guerrilla)" – 2:48

12-inch single

1. "Ship of Fools" – 6:37
2. "World Groove (Do You Mind Guerrilla)" – 2:48
3. "Nowhere Man" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 2:45

## Charts

[edit]

### Weekly charts

[edit]

| Chart (1987)  | Peak
position

|

Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] | 4
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[6] | 42
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[7] | 65
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[8] | 21
UK Singles (OCC)[9] | 42
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[3] | 27
U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[4] | 5

### Year-end charts

[edit]

| Chart (1987)  | Position

|

Australia (Australian Music Report)[10] | 39

## Cover versions

[edit]

Australian indie pop/rock band Something for Kate released an acoustic cover version of the song on their Live at the Corner album in 2008. A 2017 episode of the TV show Fargo (S3E5 "The House of Special Purpose)[11] features a minimalist cover of "Ship of Fools" performed for the series by show runner Noah Hawley and composer Jeff Russo. In 2021 alternative rock band Lazlo Bane released a music video for the song[12] and later included it on their 2021 album Someday We'll Be Together.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (8th ed.). Billboard Books. p. 689\. ISBN 0-8230-7499-4.
2. ^ a b DeGagne, Mike. "Ship of Fools: Song Review". allmusic. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
3. ^ a b "Chart History: World Party". Billboard. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
4. ^ a b "Chart History: World Party > Mainstream Rock Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
5. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 343\. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
6. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0817." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
7. ^ "World Party – Ship of Fools" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
8. ^ "World Party – Ship of Fools". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
9. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
10. ^ "Australian Music Report No 701 – 28 December 1987 > National Top 100 Singles for 1987". Australian Music Report, via Imgur.com. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
11. ^ tunefind (2017-05-18). "Who sings the cover of Ship of Fools on Fargo?". Tunefind. Retrieved 2022-09-08.
12. ^ "Ship of Fools (Lazlo Bane)". youtube.com. August 19, 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2021-08-20.

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World Party

* Karl Wallinger

* David Catlin-Birch
* Chris Sharrock
* Guy Chambers
* Jeff Trott
* Amanda Kramer
* John Turnbull

Studio albums|

* Private Revolution
* Goodbye Jumbo
* Bang!
* Egyptology
* Dumbing Up

Singles|

* "Ship of Fools"
* "Way Down Now"
* "She's the One"

Compilations|

* Arkeology

Related articles|

* The Waterboys
* Big Blue Ball

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz work

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