"Ship of Fools" (subtitled "Save Me from Tomorrow" ) is a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

song by

World Party World Party were a British musical group, which was essentially the solo project of its sole member, Karl Wallinger. He started the band in 1986 in London after leaving the Waterboys. Career After a stint as musical director of a West End pe ...

released as a second single from the 1987 debut album ''

Private Revolution ''Private Revolution'' is the debut album by the British rock band World Party. At this point, singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Karl Wallinger was the only member of World Party, and the only person pictured on the cover. Wallinger is as ...

''. It was written and produced by singer and multi-instrumentalist

Karl Wallinger Karl Edmond De Vere Wallinger (born 19 October 1957, Prestatyn, Wales) is a Welsh musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for leading the band World Party and for his mid-1980s stint in the Waterboys. He also wrote and origi ...

, formerly of

The Waterboys The Waterboys are a folk rock band formed in Edinburgh in 1983 by Scottish musician Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Mike Scott has remained ...

. Wallinger was the sole member of World Party at the time of release.

Overview

It was World Party's sole ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Top 40 single, debuting on that chart on 4 April 1987 and peaking at number 27. It also reached no. 42 on the UK singles chart, no. 5 on the ''Billboard''

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

chart, and no. 4 on the

Australian Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July 1 ...

chart. 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). The song has also been included on over a dozen compilations, including

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

's ''Rainbow Warriors'' compilation.

Track listings

All songs by Karl Wallinger except where noted 7-inch single # "Ship of Fools" – 4:13 # "World Groove (Do You Mind Guerrilla)" – 2:48 12-inch single # "Ship of Fools" – 6:37 # "World Groove (Do You Mind Guerrilla)" – 2:48 # " Nowhere Man" (

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

) – 2:45

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions

Australian indie pop/rock band

Something for Kate Something for Kate are an Australian alternative rock band, which formed in 1994 with Paul Dempsey on lead vocals and guitar, and Clint Hyndman on drums. They were joined in 1998 by Stephanie Ashworth on bass guitar and backing vocals. The grou ...

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) 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 Lazlo Bane is an alternative rock band from Santa Monica, California, United States. They are well known for collaborating with former Men at Work member Colin Hay, and providing the song "Superman (Lazlo Bane song), Superman" as the theme for t ...

released a music video for the song and later included it on their 2021 album ''Someday We'll Be Together''.

References

1987 debut singles World Party songs 1986 songs Songs written by Karl Wallinger {{1980s-rock-song-stub