"I'll Sail This Ship Alone" was the third and final single to be taken from The Beautiful South

The Beautiful South

The Beautiful South were an English alternative rock group formed at the end of the 1980s by two former members of Hull group The Housemartins, Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway. The duo were initially joined by Sean Welch , Dave Stead and Dave Rotheray , all of whom stayed with the group throughout...

's debut album Welcome to the Beautiful South

Welcome to the Beautiful South

Welcome to the Beautiful South is the debut album by The Beautiful South released in August 1989. Three singles were released from the album: "Song for Whoever" , "You Keep It All In" and "I'll Sail This Ship Alone" ....

. The single reached a low #31 in December 1989

1989 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1989.-Events:*January 14 – Paul McCartney releases Снова в СССР exclusively in the USSR...

 compared to the band's first two singles "Song For Whoever

Song For Whoever

"Song for Whoever" is a song by The Beautiful South, written by band members Paul Heaton and David Rotheray. The first and highest-charting single from their debut album, Welcome to the Beautiful South, it peaked at number 2 in the UK charts in 1989...

" and "You Keep It All In

You Keep It All In

"You Keep It All In" is the second single to be taken from The Beautiful South's debut album Welcome to the Beautiful South. It reached number eight in the UK Singles Chart in September 1989. "You Keep It All In" was also a hit on United States alternative rock radio, and the single peaked at #19...

", both of which made the top 10 in the UK singles chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

.

The track was remixed for its release as a single. Whereas the album version was a simple piano and strings production, drums were added for the single version.

This song is also heard in the Beach Boys, a popular Japanese serial drama broadcast in 1997. However this song is not included in either of the show's two OST.